


Purr-fect

by Jld71



Series: Purr-fect [1]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bottom Jensen Ackles, M/M, Misunderstandings, Possible Dub-Con, Questions, Secrets, Shopping, Top Jared Padalecki, Uncertainty, Were-Creatures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-07 12:16:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15908091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jld71/pseuds/Jld71
Summary: Jensen is the perfect boyfriend for Jared, even if he is extremely shy and they’ve barely gotten past the hand holding stage after six months of dating. But, Jared has begun to wonder if Jensen really is as interested in their relationship as he is. Turns out, Jensen has been keeping a secret from him.





	1. Purr-fect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cozy_coffee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cozy_coffee/gifts).



> Request by cozy_coffee: Jensen, purring  
> 2015-08-14  
> Jensen purring. That's it, I really want something with Jensen purring. Curse, were-cat, actual cat, I don't care. Any pairing or gen.  
> Artwork by: jdl71/jld71

 

 

Purr-fect

They had met by accident. Jared hadn’t been watching where he was going or what he had been doing and walked right into a solid body, nearly spilling both of their coffees and knocking the man down. This was typical for Jared, he was long-limbed and sometimes didn’t have complete control over them. Add the fact that he was usually a ball of eager energy and the poor guy hadn’t stood a chance against Jared. He reached out, placing a steadying hand on the guy’s arm he had nearly bowled over, stopping him from pitching forward and face planting.

“Sorry, sorry,” Jared said sheepishly. “I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you alright? I didn’t spill your coffee did I?” He asked as the man turned to face him, a slight perplexed look on his face, as if he didn’t know what to make of Jared or his apology. He sucked in a breath when he actually took a good look at the man. He was breathtaking. The first thing he saw were emerald green eyes looking up at him and then pink lips.

“No, I’m fine,” the man had said.

“Good. I’m Jared by the way,” he offered with a smile as he withdrew his hand from the man’s arm.

“Jensen,” the man had nearly whispered. 

“Nice to meet you,” Jared said as the man smiled and began to turn away from him. He watched as Jensen walked out of the shop and down the street until he lost track of him. He smiled as he sipped at his coffee, hoping he’d see Jensen again, maybe talk to him a little more. 

After meeting Jensen, Jared discovered that Jensen owned the bookstore next door,  _ The Book Seller _ , to the coffee shop. So, he had plenty of reasons to frequent the coffee shop and then began to find reasons to stop in at the book shop. The first time he had stopped in was under the pretext of needing to buy a birthday present for a coworker’s daughter. Jensen had patiently helped him pick out an age appropriate book for a five year old. The second time Jared had stopped in was to buy the latest book on accounting practices. Jensen had just raised an eyebrow at him when he’d asked about the book. 

“Sorry,” Jensen said with a slight blush. “I don’t seem to have that book in stock. It’s not something I get a lost of requests for. It’s usually Stephen King, J. K. Rowling, the more well-known authors. I’m sure you can find it at . . .”

Jared cut him off, “Can you order it for me?” Jared asked, flashing Jensen a dimpled smile. “It’s just that my accounting firm is right around the corner from this book shop and the coffee shop and it’s easier to get here then going across town.” He knew he was babbling, but couldn’t stop. “I’d owe you one, or several. I could take you out for coffee. You like coffee right? I think I’ve seen you at  _ Coffee Roma _ .” He had actually walked into Jensen on their first meeting at the coffee shop. He winced at that memory, it wasn’t one of his finest moments.

Thankfully, Jensen held up his hand, cutting Jared off from anymore of his ramblings. “I can order it for you. It should take about a week to come in. I can have it sent to your home . . . or your firm.” 

“ _ It Figures _ , my firm. Started it right out of college,” Jared said with pride. He saw the shy smile on Jensen’s lips. “But, I can just pick it up. That way, I can take you out for that coffee I offered.” Jared noticed that Jensen had stopped what he was doing at the computer on the counter and turned to look at him. Jensen’s eyes were wide in surprise, and a beautiful shade of green. He blinked several times at Jared and then sucked in his bottom lip, working it between his teeth and all Jared could think of was how much he wanted to kiss those lips. 

“Um?” Was Jensen’s response.

Jared took a step back from the counter. “You’re probably seeing someone already or not interested. Sorry,” Jared muttered, looking away from Jensen.

“No . . . not seeing anyone,” Jensen stated quietly as his blush deepened.

Jared’s head snapped back to look at Jensen. The blush was back on Jensen’s cheeks, making the smattering of freckles across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose stand out. Jared smiled, his dimples prominently on display. “Okay, so here’s my card,” he said as he handed his credit card over to Jensen to complete his order. He watched as Jensen efficiently rang up his purchase and placed the order for his book. “So, you’ll call me when the book comes in?” He asked as Jensen handed him back his card and a copy of his order. 

“Yes,” Jensen said with a shake of his head and a shy smile.

Jared smiled back as him. “Good, I’ll see you soon,” Jared said as he left the store. 

The entire next week, they kept running into each other at the coffee shop. Jared knew when Jensen opened his book store and since Jared wasn’t giving up just yet, he made a point of being at  _ Coffee Roma _ when Jensen would be there. Jared would approach Jensen with a smile and a hello. Jensen would shyly smile back and return the hello with a quiet hi of his own and then they would go their separate ways. 

Jared finally got the call he had been waiting for from Jensen. He answered his cell phone on the third ring - he wanted to pick it up as soon as he saw the name, but didn’t want to appear too eager. “Hello.”

“Is this Jared? This is Jensen Ackles, from  _ The Book Seller _ .”

“Hi Jensen, it’s Jared.”

“Um, I was just calling to let you know that your book is in. “

Jared couldn’t help but smile at hearing Jensen’s voice. “Great, what time are you open until?” He knew what time the store closed, but he wasn’t letting that information out.

“Seven,” Jensen responded back.

“I’ll be in tonight, then we can talk about that coffee.” He heard a quiet gasp from the other end of the phone. “See you later,” he said, ending the call. He smiled to himself. He would get to see Jensen again and he wasn’t taking no for an answer to taking Jensen out for coffee.

At six-thirty that night, Jared had walked into  _ The Book Seller _ to find Jensen tidying up the shelves before closing. He cleared his throat, hoping not to scare the man as he approached him. “Hi, Jensen,” he said as he walked up to the area Jensen was in. He noticed the wooden sign suspended from a set of chains hanging from the ceiling, Mysteries, in a crisp handwritten scroll. He looked around and noticed that each genre was marked with a similar sign.

Jensen looked up from what he had been doing and smiled. He felt a little flutter in his stomach at seeing Jared. Yes, he was interested in the tall, muscular man standing in front of him. But, he had to remind himself that Jared was just a customer, a nice customer who was just the type of man he could see himself falling for. “Hi, Jared,” he said as he finished straightening the books. “Let me get you your book so you can be on your way.” He turned and walked back to the counter where he had left Jared’s order. He walked around the counter, picked up the book and turned to hand it ot Jared. He stopped and took in a sharp breath as he realized Jared was standing right next to him. “Here’s . . . here’s your book.” He offered Jared the book and tried to take a step back as he felt Jared’s fingers brush over his own.

“Thanks. So, how about that cup of coffee I offered to buy you? Are you free tonight?” 

Jensen swallowed several times as his mind tried to supply the right response. He had only dated a few times. Twice to be accurate and they had both been disasters. He had already resigned himself to a solitary life. He had his book store to run. What else could he need?  “That’s really nice of you, but you don’t have to. I’m just doing my job, selling books so my store stays open,” Jensen offered with a tight smile. He knew Jared was just being nice, there was no way someone like Jared would go for someone like him. Especially with the secret he was keeping.

“I want to.” He saw Jensen’s face scrunch up in confusion. “Look, I’m asking you out on a date. You said you weren’t seeing anyone, right?” He continued on, not letting Jensen answer. “Has that changed? Unless, you’re not interested, or I read the signals wrong and you’re not gay?” God, please be gay, he thought to himself. Because if Jensen wasn’t, then this was about to become a very awkward moment. 

“Um, no . . . still not seeing anyone. And, yes, gay . . . and interested,” Jensen whispered. 

Jared broke out into a wide smile at hearing that. “So, three for three, in my favor. So, coffee? My treat.” He shoved his hands in his pockets in favor of not doing a fist pump and embarrassing himself in front of the very intriguing man he was attempting to get a date with. 

“Okay,” Jensen said. “I just need to close up, then we can go to  _ Coffee Roma _ .”

Jared just nodded and stepped back, giving Jensen the space he needed to complete his task of closing the store. Once done, Jared followed Jensen out into the cool evening. They walked the short distance in a peaceful silence to  _ Coffee Roma _ , each giving the other tentative glances when they thought no one was looking. As they entered the coffee shop, Jared was able to get them a table for two in the back where it was quieter. “This way, we can talk,” he reasoned as Jensen took his seat. “What can I order for you?” Jared asked as he stood next to the table. 

“Just a coffee, black,” Jensen said as he looked up at Jared. 

“Come on, you gotta have more than coffee. They have a great chocolate cake here.” He saw the small grimace that Jensen gave him. “What? You don’t like chocolate? We might not be compatible after all.” He chuckled at his own joke.

“No, I like chocolate. I’m just not a fan of cake.” Jensen shot back at Jared. “Pie, I like pie,” he called out softly as Jared turned away from him to place their order. 

Jared returned a few minutes later with their coffees, cake and pie. “Got you apple, hope you like it,” he said with a shrug as he pushed the plate and fork toward Jensen. 

Jensen took the offered pie, picked up his fork and took a bite. He hummed around the fork in his mouth. “My favorite,” he explained as he took a sip of coffee. “Nothing better than apple pie with coffee. Thanks.”

“You sure you don’t want a bite of the cake? It’s great,” Jared said as he pushed his plate closer to Jensen, only move it back when Jensen shook his head and said no with a light laugh. “So, tell me about yourself.”

“I was born in Dallas. I moved here to Austin after college. I majored in business,” Jensen paused to take another bite of pie and a sip of his coffee before continuing. “I’m an only child and I have a love of books. So, when the store went up for sale, I jumped at the change to buy it. Not much else to tell, really.” He rubbed at the back of his head as he looked away. He turned his eyes back at Jared and gave him a small smile. “What . . . what about you?”

“I was born in San Antonio. Moved out here for college, then started my business as you know. I’m the middle child, older brother, younger sister.” Jared sat back and looked at Jensen as he spoke. “I like sports, reading, music . . . the usual.” 

As Jensen finished his coffee and pie, he noticed the time. “I guess I should get going. You’ve probably had a long day.” He pushed himself back from the table and stood. “Thank you. This was nice.” He started to walk away but was stopped by Jared calling his name.

“Jensen, wait.” Jared walked quickly to the retreating man, determined not to let him go. “I had a nice time. I’d like to do it again,” he said as he looked into Jensen’s widening eyes. He smiled at Jensen, trying to convey his sincerity. He watched as Jensen looked around, as if trying to see if Jared was talking to him or someone else. 

“Are you . . .”

“Listen, how about we meet for coffee again tomorrow? Then we can talk about going out again?” He offered, sensing Jensen’s uncertainty. 

A smile spread over Jensen’s face as he listened to Jared’s words. “Okay, sure. I’d like that.” His face brightened as he spoke. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jensen said as he reached for the door and disappeared into the darkened night.

Jared gave a deep sigh as he watched Jensen leave the coffee shop. The man was definitely intriguing and he wanted to learn more about him. He already felt like he was falling for Jensen in just the little time he’d been around the man. He just hoped that Jensen would give him a chance. He was pretty sure they would be a good fit for each other. 

That had been six months ago and Jared was still trying to unravel the mystery that was Jensen Ackles, his boyfriend.

He had managed to finally unravel that mystery. What he had discovered was something truly amazing. Jensen was a were-creature. A were-cat to be precise and he was beautiful in his cat form. The first time he had seen Jensen in his were form was amazing. Jensen’s cat form was twice the size of a normal house cat. Jared had come home to find an orange colored cat curled up on the couch. “Jensen?” He had called out as he walked into the living room, only to stop short at the sight of a large ball of fur on the couch. “Jensen?” He asked quietly only to have the cat stir, stand and stretch. The cat yawned and then turned its green eyes to look at him. “Jensen, you’re in your cat form,” Jared had uttered in disbelief. He had never seen Jensen like this before and had never dared to ask. The cat plopped down from the couch and padded over to him. He took in Jensen’s sleek cat form, short fur and noted that even in this form, Jensen seemed to be covered in slightly darker orange, nearly brown spots. “Huh, even in this form you have freckles.” He felt Jensen nudge at his leg before Jensen was entwining himself in between his legs, dancing back and forth as if to get his attention. Jared looked down and smiled. 

Jensen turned and took a few steps back toward the couch, only to stop and glance over his shoulder. He chirped at Jared, trying to get his attention, to get him to follow him. Then he jumped up onto the couch and walked back and forth, waiting for Jared to join him. 

Jared gave out a nervous laugh and then followed Jensen to the couch. Jensen turned his eyes toward him, seeming to narrow his eyes in a pointed glance as if to say ‘what are you doing, sit down’. He frowned at Jensen. He watched as Jensen raised a paw at him and then reached out, touching his thigh. “You want me to sit?” His question was met with a meow. “Okay,” he said with uncertainty. He did as Jensen, in cat form, instructed him to do and sat down. The next thing he knew, he had a lap full of Jensen. 

Once Jared was seated, Jensen pounced on his mate. He jumped into Jared’s lap, got up on his hind legs and headbutted against Jared’s chin. He licked and nuzzled Jared, showing Jared the attention due to him as his mate. He heard a soft chuckle coming from Jared as he began to groom him. 

“Jensen, that tickles,” Jared laughed as he felt the sandpaper tongue swipe across his chin and neck. “Are you grooming me?” Jensen’s response was to headbutt him again. He brought his hand up and ran it down the back of Jensen’s fur, feeling the silky softness of it. 

At feeling Jared’s hand stroking his fur, Jensen closed his eyes. He went down on all four paws, tucked his tail underneath him and curled up against Jared’s chest and legs. He had never felt so content in his life was his last thought as he began to drift off into sleep. 

Jared looked down at the cat in his lap. His mate was beautiful as a cat. Hell, Jensen was beautiful in either form - green eyes, pale skin with a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose and checks and full, kissable lips. And, Jared loved to kiss those lips. Somehow, his cat form seemed to suite him, almost complimenting his human form. If he could have imagined what Jensen would have looked like as a cat, this is what he would have pictured. 

Distracting is what Jensen was to Jared, and he was Jared’s. He realized that Jensen had been his since the first time they had bumped into each other in the coffee shop five years ago. Jared had been smitten with Jensen. Jensen had been shy smiles and pink tinged cheeks. So adorable. They had taken it slowly at first. Jensen was shy, painfully shy at times. He barely let Jared hold his hand, even after their third date. And kissing? Jared had only been allowed to give him a peck on the check and that was finally after a month of seeing each other.

But, that was then, and now, Jared knew why Jensen had been the way he was. He understood now. But, in the beginning, he hadn’t. He just knew something was off with Jensen. It wasn’t until he finally confronted Jensen, that Jared learned the truth. Jensen was a were, a were-creature. Jared had heard of them, probably knew some of them without knowing their true nature. Weres, while they lived and worked in the human world, hardly ever let others - humans - in on their secret. They had been persecuted, ridiculed and even killed for their differences and abilities to change from human to their animal form. But, despite the movement of inclusion some fifty years ago by humans to stop all of this, weres were still leery about revealing themselves to the predominantly human population.

Jared was open-minded, accepting of everyone and their idiosyncrasies. But Jensen, was . . . he was a conundrum to Jared. Six months into their relationship - at least that was what Jared had been calling it in his mind - and he still had yet to be invited past the front door of Jensen’s home. Perplexing is what it was to Jared. He  _ liked _ Jensen. He thought he’d read the same from Jensen’s limited body language. But, maybe he had gotten his signals crossed. It happens . . . So, he had decided to lay his cards on the table - so to speak. He had shown up at Jensen’s home. He was determined to talk with the man, see if they were on the same page relationship-wise or he would move on, as painful as that would be. 

He knocked at Jensen’s door and waited. Finally after an eternity - okay, maybe two minutes in reality had actually passed - Jensen opened the door. He stood looking at Jared, blinking owlishly in surprise at seeing him standing on his front steps. He watched as Jensen scrunched his face up in confusion.

“Jared, what are you doing here?” Jensen asked, biting his bottom lip in the way he did when he was nervous over something. 

“We need to talk,” Jared responded matter-of-factly. He waited for Jensen’s response. When none came he continued speaking. “Can I come in?”

Jensen looked over his shoulder at the interior of his home and then back at Jared before closing his eyes and shaking his head yes in silent response to Jared’s question. He took a few steps back, opening the door and allowing Jared entrance into his home, his sanctuary. This couldn’t be good, Jared turning up like this, telling him they needed to talk, he thought to himself as Jared crossed the threshold and stood, waiting for him to do something. All he could do was close the door.

Jensen turned and silently led Jared into his living room. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was sure Jared could hear it. Jared was here to talk. He forced himself to swallow down his fear and look at Jared. “Can I get you something to drink, water?” He offered, trying to cut the awkward tension filling the room.

Jared shook his head. “No, I’m good,” he said as he looked around the room. It was homey, with inviting looking furniture and a large flat screen TV. He wondered again for probably the millionth time why Jensen had never invited him in.

“You said we needed to talk,” Jensen stated. God, his voice sounded so strained to his own ears. 

Jared turned to face Jensen as he ran his hands through his hair. Best to get this over with quickly, he thought to himself. “Yeah,” he said as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Um, yeah . . .” He was off to a great start, way to go Padalecki his mind taunted him with.

“You’re here to break up with me,” Jensen said softly with a pained look on his face as he spoke. “I get it,” he whispered, shaking his head in understanding. He knew from past failed experiences that he wasn’t boyfriend material. He was too shy, to closed off. He just wasn’t what someone like Jared would want. Especially if Jared knew the truth about him. 

Jared’s eyes widened in shock at hearing Jensen’s words. “What? No!” He was taken aback by Jensen’s reaction and the look of heartbreak on his face. He shook his head no. “I came to . . . How come you’ve never invited me in?” He blurted out. He held up his hand, stopping himself and trying to get himself back on track.. “Sorry . . . We’re in a relationship, right? I mean I thought we were. Are?” This was not how he had planned for things to go. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“We’re in a relationship,” Jensen repeated quietly, almost as if he was mulling the words over.

Jared eyes snapped open and he took in Jensen’s questioning look on his face. “We are, or at least I thought that’s what going on between us,” he said as he swiped a hand back and forth in the air at their bodies. He looked at Jensen and saw confusion reflecting back at him from Jensen’s green eyes. “This is coming out all wrong.” He watched as Jensen flinched at his words. “Okay, let me start again,” he said with a small smile. “Do you consider yourself my boyfriend, that we’re in a relationship?” There. He had finally manned up enough to ask that all important question.

“Yes,” Jensen responded quietly.

Jared’s face split into a wide grin at hearing Jensen’s answer. He let out a deep breath, one he hadn’t realized he had been holding until now. “Thank God.” He sank down into the couch cushions - yes, they were as comfortable and inviting as they had looked when he had first eyed them. He looked up at Jensen and smiled again, seeing Jensen’s look of concern on his face. “Maybe I could get that glass of water after all?”

Jensen returned the smile. “Sure,” he said as he moved off into the kitchen.

Jared ran his hand along the couch cushion, only to draw it back to discover his hand was covered in fur. Cat fur. Funny, Jensen never mentioned having a cat. “Hey, do you have a cat?” He called out to Jensen.

“A what?” Jensen asked as he appeared in the doorway, a glass of water in his hand.

“A cat? Do you have a cat? Your couch is covered in cat fur,” he said as he held up his hand to show Jensen what he was talking about. He didn’t miss the color draining from Jensen’s face or the look of panic that followed closely behind, or the fact that Jensen hadn’t answered him.

“Um, sort of?” Jensen finally responded as he placed the glass down on the coffee table and took a step back from Jared. 

“Sorta? What do you mean by sorta?” He asked, puzzled over Jensen’s response. Either he had a cat or didn’t, it was that simple. 

Jensen shoved his hands into his jean pockets as his shoulders slumped, almost turning inward on himself. This was the moment of truth for him. He was about to tell Jared his secret and he knew he was about to lose Jared.

“I’m . . . I’m the cat,” he said quietly, almost too quietly for Jared to hear him. But, seeing the look on Jared’s face, he knew Jared had actually heard him.

Jared opened his mouth to speak, only to snap his jaw shut. He had nothing in a way of a response to this revelation. He could only sit and stare at Jensen, hoping that Jensen would elaborate more.

Jensen let out a deep sigh. “I’m a were-cat,” Jensen said and then looked away from Jared. He didn’t want to see the look of disgust or possibly the look of hatred for being lied to on Jared’s handsome face. He felt like his heart was breaking. He knew he should have never gotten involved with Jared, he was human after all. But he just couldn’t help himself. Jared was everything he could have ever hoped for, patient, kind, funny, smart and sexy. Jared made his inner cat sit up, take notice and purr. That had never happened to him before. 

“Oh,” was Jared’s response. The pieces had finally clicked together for him in his mind. “Oh!” Jared repeated as he stood up and stepped closer to Jensen. “That’s why we’ve been taking things slowly?” He asked as he cocked his head to the side, waiting for Jensen to respond.

Jensen couldn’t say anything. He stood quietly in the living room, listening to his own breathing as it quickened. He watched as Jared stood, sidestepped the coffee table and advanced on him. His heart slammed against his ribcage as his breath caught in his throat. He took a slight step backwards, hoping Jared hadn’t noticed his movement. 

Jared reached out for Jensen, wanting to touch him and stopped as Jensen took a step back from him. He cocked his head to the side trying to understand Jensen’s movements and his hesitation.

“Yeah,” Jensen said as he looked at Jared and then the doorway, uncertainty clouding his features. He was fast in his were-form, but he hadn’t had to defend himself in his human form in a while. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to make it to the safety of his bedroom if Jared - who was a few inches taller and a lot more muscular than him - decided to attack. You just never knew if a human would accept a were, especially one who hadn’t been up front with you while dating for six months. He felt his cat trying to surface, wanting to flee from the perceived danger. He took another step away from Jared, only to see Jared take a step toward him. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to outrun Jared, even if this was his home, even if he knew it better than Jared. He watched as Jared raised both of his arms, Jared’s hands coming toward his face. All he could do was close his eyes and pray that Jared’s beating was swift and then Jared would leave him in peace. He would recover from any violence done to his body, he had in the past from childhood bullies, but he didn’t think he’d recover from the broken heart of being rejected by Jared. He’d come to think of Jared as his mate. He hadn’t allowed himself anything in the way of physical contact with Jared except hand holding and the occasional peck on the check. If he went to far, he’d mate with Jared and Jared would never understand that once they mated, there would never be anyone else for Jensen. That was one of the reasons he’d never gone to Jared’s apartment or invited Jared in; he would have never been able to resist the urge to mate with Jared in his own home. Yet, this time he had let Jared in. He was so screwed.

When he’d seen Jared in the coffee shop, he hadn’t dared to hope that someone like Jared would take a chance on someone like him. He was painfully shy - had to be to protect himself as a were-cat in a human world. Jared had been kind, he’d been patient with him; never forcing him into something he wasn’t ready for. And he was ready. It was just the idea of telling Jared his secret scared the hell out of him. He couldn’t bring himself to utter those words, so he had kept quiet, basking in what he had with Jared. He didn’t want to lose that, but it was inevitable. He should have known this was coming. He should have been honest with Jared from the start. He just couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth. He had wanted a bit of happiness for himself. Now, that was surely gone. He’d lick his wounds and go back to his solitary life as an unmated were. He let out a soft gasp as Jared’s hands cupped his face and then Jared’s lips were crashing against his. 

He looked at Jared in surprise. This wasn’t what he’d expected to happen. He was sure Jared was about to hit him, not kiss him. “Jared?” He asked after Jared had stopped kissing him. He watched as Jared smiled at him, a smile reaching and warming his hazel eyes. This was confusing. 

“I don’t care that you’re a were-creature.”

“You don’t?” Jensen asked as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth.

Jared shook his head and laughed. “No, I got to know you, the real you. The human you.” He looked at Jensen, his eyes were soft and conveyed understanding. “I want to know all of you, when you’re ready,” Jared said, dropping his voice as it was laced with desire for the man standing in front of him. To his surprise, Jensen stepped forward and kissed him. That had never happened before and it had him reeling with Jensen’s forwardness. He returned the kiss, and found Jensen pressing himself up against Jared; displaying his want and desire. 

Without a word, Jensen grabbed Jared’s hand in his and led him out of the living room and down a hallway that ended in what had to be Jensen’s bedroom.

“Are you sure?” Jared asked. They had never done more than hand holding at best and now Jensen was leading him down the hall to his bedroom. Not that Jared minded. He was totally on board with that. Just the idea of seeing Jensen naked had him painfully hard against his jeans.  

“Yes,” Jensen gave a low, throaty mewl as he pulled Jared along behind him. His mind was screaming  _ matebreednow _ over and over in his head. He needed to feel Jared, every inch of him against his body. “Mate,” Jensen breathed out, turning to look at Jared with lust blown eyes. 

“Mate?” Jared asked and cocked his head to the side, his brows furrowed as he tried to remember what he’d heard about that term before. Oh! Jensen saw him as his mate. “You want to be mated to me?” He asked. “That means . . . that means we’re it for each other?” He felt a little thrill run through his body from that. Jensen wanted to mate with him, for life.

“Yes, bonded life mates.” Jensen said as he nipped at Jared’s neck. “No one else for me, ever,” he said as he licked at Jared’s mouth, his tongue seeking access. “Only you, Jared.”

Jared parted his lips, allowing Jensen’s tongue in to tangle with his own. Jensen tasted good, like spun sugar and home. But, bonded life mates? He felt his hard-on wilt as if he’d been dowsed with cold water. He placed his hands on Jensen’s shoulders and pulled away from Jensen, giving them some space. He saw the look of hurt and rejection in Jensen’s eyes. “Wait, I need to understand this, before . . . before anything else happens.” He dropped his hands to his sides and sat down on the edge of the bed. “You see me as your mate? But, I’m human.” He looked up at Jensen. He took in Jensen’s body language, the slumped shoulders and the way he was looking down at his feet. “How can you see me as your mate if I’m human? Is that even possible?”

“Yes, I see you as my mate,” Jensen whispered. He turned from Jared, not wanting to see Jared’s reaction to this after having just been rejected. “It’s . . . possible for a were to mate with a human. But, I get it, it’s too much for you. I’m . . . I’m sorry. I should have been honest with you.” He took in a breath as he tried to get the rest of his words out. “I just didn’t want to lose you. But, I guess . . .” He ran his hands over his face, wiping away the few tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes. He turned and walked out of his bedroom. He’d give Jared the chance to leave without having to say anything else. It was clear to him that Jared had rejected him. He wasn’t going to make this any more awkward than it already was. 

He walked into the living room to get Jared’s glass and clean up. Then he could turn from his human form into his cat form curl up on the couch and mourn the loss of his mate. He’d still be able to breathe in Jared’s scent, it was all over his home now, another reason why he’d never invited Jared inside. It was bad enough that after his dates with Jared he’d curl up on whatever he’d been wearing that Jared had touched just to be able to smell Jared after they had parted. Jared’s scent was comforting to him. After today, he’d have to clean his home, he’d need to block out Jared’s scent so he would never smell it again. His mate. No, Jared wasn’t his mate. He let out a mournful cry, one he couldn’t hold back, as he walked into the kitchen. His cat was just under the surface of his skin, trying to get out, trying to understand why his mate had rejected him. 

He placed the glass on the counter and stood at the sink, letting the sun hit and warm his skin. He took little comfort in that, where usually he enjoyed the feel of the sun on his skin or fur. “Stupid, so stupid,” he uttered as he shook his head. “I should have known Jared wouldn’t want me. Wouldn’t want to mate with me. I’m not human, of course he rejected me.” He felt a stabbing pain in his chest and raised his hand to rub at it. The pain would never go away, he knew that. He’d been rejected by the one he saw as his mate, there was no coming back from that. Sure, he’d come to live with the pain, learn how to survive, but he’d never be with his mate, with Jared. There would never be anyone else for him. 

Jared’s head was spinning. Before he could say anything, Jensen had walked out of the room. He just needed a moment to gather his thoughts. He wanted Jensen. God knew he wanted the man. He had just been surprised by Jensen’s confession and then a little freaked out. But it was more about the mateship than the were-creature thing. But, if he was honest with himself, there had been a little thrill of hearing that Jensen wanted him, saw him as his mate. Was that so bad? They would be bonded life mates. Wasn’t that the same thing as getting married? But, was he ready for that? Jensen had had his entire life to adjust to that. He had just been dumped into the deep end of the pool and he was just trying to tread water as he made sense of everything. He closed his eyes. Where did he see himself? Did he see himself with Jensen or someone else? The only image that flashed at him from behind closed eyes was Jensen’s face. He opened his eyes, he had his answer.

Hearing the mournful sound from Jensen had him up and out of the bedroom in search of Jensen. He stopped at the kitchen doorway when he heard Jensen’s voice. Was he talking to someone? Jared felt a wave of possessiveness wash over himself. Human or not, were or not, Jensen was his. He was about to barge in when he actually heard what Jensen was saying, when he realized that Jensen was speaking to himself. Jensen thought Jared didn’t want him. Jensen thought he’d been rejected. He entered the kitchen, caught Jensen by the shoulder and spun him around. He saw the look of shock on Jensen’s face just before he crashed his lips against Jensen’s. He trailed his hands along Jensen’s back, bringing one up to the back of his neck to pull him closer. “Mate,” he breathed as he pulled back from Jensen’s lips. “I want to be your mate, don’t want to be without you.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he had spoken the truth. He pressed himself against Jensen’s hard body, feeling Jensen’s muscles as they shifted under the added weight of his body. 

Jensen looked up at Jared, wide-eyed as he tried to form a word, let alone a sentence. Jared hadn’t rejected him. Jared wanted to mate with him. “Mate?” He asked as he cocked his head to the side. “Are you sure? Once we do this, there will never be another for me, even if you decide to end things,” he said as his voice caught in his throat. 

“There will never be another for me either.” He chased after Jensen’s lips, nipping at the bottom one. “How? I mean how do we bond? Mate?” This was something new for him. He was at a loss as to what to do. All he could do was follow Jensen’s lead in this.

Jensen gave Jared a shy smile before taking Jared’s hand in his and leading him back to his bedroom. When they made it back to his room, Jensen turned to Jared and began to undress. He slipped his shirt off, letting it fall to the floor before starting to work on his jeans. Hands joined his, pushing them away. He looked up to see hazel eyes staring down at him. He felt Jared’s fingers on his hands, bringing them up to Jared’s chest before they were pushed under Jared’s shirt. He took over, pushing Jared’s shirt up and over his head as Jared leaned in for another kiss. In a flurry of movement, their clothes were shed and they were taking in each other’s naked forms.

“Gorgeous. You’re covered in freckles,” Jared gasped as he took in Jensen’s naked skin. God, he wanted to lick over those spots on that milky white skin. He had wondered if Jensen was covered in freckles; now he had his answer. He watched as Jensen blushed, his checks and neck turning pink. Jensen brought his hands up to his biceps, rubbing over the skin. “No need to be shy,” Jared said as he stepped into Jensen’s space. He took another step, as Jensen took a step back, the back of his calves hitting the bed. 

“Never . . .” Jensen let his voice trail off. 

“Oh, never?” Jared asked. He was awestruck that this amazing man standing before him had never been with anyone before.

“No, was waiting for my mate,” Jensen said as he turned his green eyes on Jared. 

Jared surged forward needing to kiss Jensen at hearing those words. He gently helped Jensen to lay on his back on the middle of the bed before nudging Jensen’s legs open. He crawled in between Jensen’s legs, leaned down and kissed Jensen again. He ran his fingers down Jensen’s stomach, trailing along his hip before letting his fingers brush over Jensen’s hard cock, causing Jensen hips to buck up at the touch. He heard the gasp Jensen made. He saw Jensen’s breathing quicken. “Shh, it’s gonna be okay. Stop me if it gets to be too much.”               

Jensen could only nod at Jared’s words. Too much? His senses were already on overload. He was naked on his bed with Jared between his legs. Jared was about to mate with him. He was about to be taken by the man he loved. He reached up and pushed Jared’s hair out of his eyes. “I love you.”

Jared beamed down at Jensen. “I love you, too.” He kissed Jensen’s neck before letting his fingers cups Jensen’s cock, needing to feel his hardness. God if he didn’t fuck Jensen soon, he was going to explode. “Lube? Condom?” Shit, he didn’t have a condom or lube with him. He hadn’t come over here for that. And if this was Jensen’s first time, then he was pretty sure Jensen didn’t have anything.

“No need,” Jensen huffed out. “Were-cat, omega. Self-lubricating. Don’t have to worry, can’t contract human diseases.”

Well, that was something he hadn’t know about. He was sure there were other things he needed to know, but that could come later. Much later. Now, he needed to be inside Jensen.

He felt Jensen wiggle underneath him and he gave Jensen a curious look. Jensen smiled up at him and then tried to roll over onto his stomach. Jared backed off, giving him the room he needed to move. 

Jensen turned, trying to roll over onto his stomach. His mind was chanting  _ matebreednow _ . He felt his body begin to release slick, readying him to be bred by Jared. He got up onto his hands and knees, presenting himself to his mate. His cat form was so close to the surface, wanting to be taken by his mate. He was fighting with it to stay in his human form. What little was left of his human mind doubted that Jared would want to mate with him as a cat. He gave out a soft mewling sound, trying to spur Jared on to take him. When Jared just looked at him he mewled again. “Breed, mate,” he managed to get out before his mind clouded over with want for Jared. He gave a low, throaty growl, hoping that would urge Jared on.

Jared heard the needy sounds coming from Jensen and his body began to respond. He crawled back in between Jensen’s parted legs and placed his hands on Jensen’s hips. He felt Jensen push back, urging him into action. He brought one hand to Jensen’s ass, letting his fingers trail along Jensen’s rim. He felt the slick Jensen’s body was producing and moaned as one finger slipped into Jensen’s tight heat. He needed to prep Jensen before he took him. He didn’t want to hurt him. As he pushed a second finger in, he felt Jensen push back. By the third finger, Jensen was parting his legs more and dropping onto his forearms as he arched his back, trying to take as much of his fingers in as Jensen’s body could. He palmed his hard cock as he withdrew his fingers. He heard Jensen mewl at the loss. He rubbed his slicked fingers over his cock before he lined himself up with Jensen’s rim. He pushed the head in and heard Jensen hiss at being breached by his cock. He pushed in a little further, feeling Jensen muscles flutter around him. When he was fully sheathed in Jensen’s body, he stopped moving to give Jensen a moment to adjust. When Jensen wiggled his ass, Jared began to move. He pulled out and pushed back in.

Jensen tossed back his head and let out a guttural growl as Jared began to thrust into him. His mate had breached him. Jared. Jared was mating with him, breeding him. His gave soft mewls and then throaty growls as Jared’s pace quickened. His body was pliant as Jared slammed into him. He panted as his body was moved back and forth by Jared’s thrust. He keened as he felt his body respond to Jared’s touches, to Jared fucking him. He clawed at the bed as his balls tightened against his body, filling with his release. When he felt Jared’s hand on his cock, he threw back his head and yowled as he came. 

Hearing Jensen’s yowl and feeling Jensen’s come splatter on his hand was enough to push Jared over the edge. He pulled out of Jensen’s body only to slam back in as he came with a guttural groan of his own, filling Jensen with his come. He thrust into Jensen’s body a few more times, riding out the aftershock of his orgasm. 

Gently he pulled out of Jensen’s body and slid onto his side. He smiled at Jensen’s blissed out look on his face. He had put that look there, he wanted to crow at that. He reached out and pulled Jensen to him, kissing Jensen. He felt Jensen settle against him as he rolled onto his back, pulling Jensen against his chest. He rubbed a hand on Jensen’s back. He felt a rumble coming from within Jensen’s chest. He looked down at Jensen who was curled against his chest and legs. He craned his neck and kissed the top of Jensen’s head.  

“Are you . . . are you purring” Jared asked in awe.

“Um, maybe?” Jensen responded. 

Jared could only chuckle at that. There were things about Jensen that he had never known about. Now, he had a lifetime to learn.

  
  
  



	2. Questions and Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three months have past since human Jared mated with were-cat Jensen. Jared has had time to think about things. Now, he has questions, ones he probably should have asked before venturing into the secret life of a were-creature.

 

 

Questions and Answers  


 

After mating with Jensen, Jared realized he really had no idea about the secret lives of weres. The things he did know, well, that was limited at best. He knew he was mated to Jensen, happily so. He knew Jensen was an omega. He really had to find the time to ask about that. He still wasn’t sure what that meant. Jensen was able to self-lubricate, readying himself for when they made love, or bred as Jensen referred to it when he was was so needy he was nearly climbing Jared to get him into bed. Was that something just Jensen did or was that part of what he was, part of his nature? He knew that there was no one else for Jensen - ever. And, to be honest, he knew there would never be anyone else for him. Jensen was  _ The One _ . Despite being happily mated? Married as he referred to it in his mind, he still had questions. Ones he had been to shy to ask. And he was never shy.  _ Ever _ . So, one day, while Jensen was at his book store and Jared actually had time to breathe after the tax season had ended, he sat down to take time to think, and make a list of his questions. He needed answers.

 

He sat at their desk. Everything was theirs now. Jensen’s house had become theirs once they had mated. He had happily given up the lease on his apartment to move in with Jensen. There was no need to have two dwellings, not with having Jensen as his mate. He wanted to be with Jensen as much as possible. The move and integration of their lives had been seamless. He hadn’t realized how much it meant to him to be with Jensen until they were living together. 

 

It had been a surprise to his family when he had informed them that not only had he met someone and fallen in love, but that they were living together. He had decided to keep Jensen’s secret of being a were-cat to himself until he had a chance to actually introduce Jensen to his family. Jensen had balked at meeting his family. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. He did, he was just afraid of their reaction to him, to the fact that he wasn’t fully human. All he could do was try to calm Jensen by telling him how lucky he was to have Jensen as his mate, how much he loved him and that no matter the outcome, he would always be Jensen’s mate. That had seemed to do the trick until it had been time to make the nearly two hour drive to San Antonio. Jensen had turned into his cat form and had hidden underneath their bed. It had taken nearly an hour of coaxing and promises of grooming and mating with Jensen to finally lure him out from that small space. When he had first reached under the bed, Jensen had hissed his displeasure at him and had even attempted to scratch at his hand.

 

“Come out. We took the afternoon off from work to do this. We agreed on it.” He reached out, trying to touch Jensen’s paw only to quickly pull his hand away when Jensen tried to swipe a claw at him. “Jensen, stop that. Be reasonable, please.” His words were met with hisses and a few growls. He was pretty sure that Jensen was telling him to fuck off and leave him alone. “Did I act like this when your parents came to meet me? No.” He had tried throwing that at Jensen. He had thought that maybe shaming Jensen would do the trick. His words were only met with an angry yowl. He knew this was stressful for Jensen. It was for both of them, but it was best to get it over with before his family just showed up on their doorstep. And they would, he had warned Jensen just what his family was like. They were loud, boisterous and tended to lack personal boundaries. He had backed away after the third attempt to get Jensen out, giving him time to calm down and come to his senses. 

 

From the living room he could hear Jensen’s mournful meows and it broke his heart to hear him like that. He got up and made his way down the hallway to stand in the doorway of their bedroom. He smiled at the sight before him. He could see Jensen’s front paws, his nose and whiskers peeking out from underneath the blue comforter on their bed. Quietly, he walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, careful not to crush Jensen or touch him. He knew by seeing just this little of Jensen that he was beginning to calm down. “Jensen, I swear to you, everything will be fine. My family is going to love you just as much as I do. I would never let anything happen to you. I’d never let them harm you. I’ve never even told them that you’re a were. I won’t, unless it’s something you’re okay with them knowing. Now, if you come out, I’ll groom you in your cat form. I’ll even rub your belly. Then, afterwards, if you’re good, I’ll even breed you. But, only once you’re in your human form.” He heard a questioning chirp come from under the bed. He knew had Jensen’s attention as two paws emerged, followed by Jensen’s head. He reached down and scratched between Jensen’s ears and heard the deep rumbling of a purr emanating from Jensen. The next thing he knew, Jensen was out from under the bed and knocking him backwards as he climbed onto his lap. He felt Jensen’s claws against his clothed thighs as Jensen began to knead at his body. “Hey, take it easy. I might have on jeans, but I can still feel your claws,” he huffed out, only to have Jensen lick his cheek in what he knew was an apology. “Okay, okay, you’re forgiven.” 

 

Jensen licked at Jared’s cheek once more before moving on to the bed, waiting for Jared to uphold his end of the bargain: groom and then breed. He rolled over onto his back, letting his paws fall to his sides, giving Jared access to his belly. When Jared didn’t move, he narrowed his eyes and gave Jared a pointed glare and a low growl. He found that did the trick and felt Jared’s long and skillful fingers scratching over his sensitive stomach. He closed his eyes, basking in his mate’s caresses and let out a deep long purr to show his approval. He heard Jared telling him to roll over and he did, letting himself fall onto his belly as Jared began to run his fingers over his back, stroking his fur. He moved closer to feel Jared’s body against his as he laid his head on Jared’s thigh. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Jared’s fingers scratching at his ears again. 

 

Jared could only grin as he looked down at Jensen, feeling Jensen’s body pressed against his and hearing his contented purring. It was the next best sound he enjoyed hearing from Jensen. The first was the breathy mewls and moans Jensen made when they were making love. He still marveled at the fact that Jensen had taken a chance on him, let him into his world, let Jared love him. It was still all new to him and he had done his best to introduce Jensen into his world, taking it slowly when things overwhelmed the man. He had introduced Jensen to his employees and friends - in small doses - there was no need to shock Jensen with his friends from college or the people he employed. They were unique in their own ways. And, to an outsider, it took some time to get used to them. Thankfully, the people he had surrounded himself with welcomed Jensen with opened arms and over time, Jensen had become comfortable with them. Sadly, he had discovered that aside from his parents, Jensen didn’t have a large circle of friends and family to surround himself with. In fact, Jensen didn’t have any friends. Jensen had explained that it was a result of being a were and not trusting humans to accept him without hurting him in some way. Since finding that out, he had made it his mission to care for Jensen and help him make a few friends, whether they were within his circle of friends or not, he didn’t care. He just wanted to see Jensen happy and he would do anything to make that happen. 

 

Jared’s thoughts were interrupted when he felt movement on the bed and looked down to see that Jensen had shifted into his human form. He ruffled Jensen’s hair, feeling the difference between human hair and fur on his fingers. He took in the sight before him; Jensen was naked, laying against him, still purring. God, how he enjoyed the sight of that; milky white skin, dotted with cinnamon colored freckles, he could look at Jensen like this all day. But, he couldn’t, he had a promise to keep. And he had never broken one that he had made to Jensen, and he didn’t intend to now. He let his fingers trail down Jensen’s arm and back and felt Jensen shift against him, moving off of him to lay against the mattress. “My pretty mate,” he said as Jensen looked up at him with lust blown eyes. He slid down to lay against Jensen and heard Jensen’s breathing quicken. “What do you want, my love, my mate?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

 

“You,” Jensen breathed out in response as he reached out to run his fingers under Jared’s shirt, trying to push it off. 

 

“So needy,” Jared responded as he pushed himself off the bed to shed his clothes. He looked up to find Jensen watching him, licking his lips in anticipation. Once undressed, he laid back down on his side, facing Jensen. He reached out, pulling Jensen to him, nipping and kissing along Jensen’s exposed throat. He had learned after their first time together that Jensen offering his throat to him was his way of showing Jared that he saw him not only as his mate, but his alpha. While he had accepted that explanation, he still had questions regarding it. The thought of that, of being called Jensen’s alpha and the submissive offering, then and now always got him hard, knowing that Jensen trusted him enough to offer that part of himself to him. He moved them so that he was leaning down over Jensen, his arms on either side of Jensen’s shoulders, pressing their pelvises and legs together, feeling each other’s erections. He kissed Jensen on the lips before moving down to his chest to suck one of Jensen’s nipples into his mouth while his hand played the the free one. He heard Jensen gasp as he nuzzled the pebbled nub with his teeth. He let go of the one in his mouth with a soft pop and repeated his actions with the other. 

 

“Mate, please . . .” Jensen choked out as he felt Jared’s lips suck on his nipple. He tried to buck his hips up, trying to find friction against Jared’s body. But the weight that was Jared against him prohibited him from accomplishing that. He whined at not being able to move and heard Jared chuckle at him.

 

“What’s wrong?” Jared asked as he slid a hand in between their bodies, his fingers grazing over their hardened and throbbing cocks. He heard the gasp that escaped Jensen’s kiss swollen lips and began to work his fingers faster. When he had Jensen squirming underneath him, he let go and lifted himself up from Jensen’s warm skin. He heard Jensen mewl from the loss of contact. 

 

Feeling that Jared had lifted himself off of him, Jensen tried to roll over, to present himself to Jared, only to have Jared’s hands on him, stopping him.

 

“No, I want you like this, on your back so I can look into those beautiful eyes. I want to watch you, see you when you come,” Jared said, his voice was deep with desire. He knew it wasn’t something that Jensen normally was comfortable with. It was one of Jensen’s baser were-cat instincts to present himself for his mate to breed him while he was on all fours. But, he liked being able to kiss Jensen, to watch Jensen’s eyes close as pleasure washed over him. He enjoyed the way Jensen’s body moved under him, how Jensen would reach up to catch his shoulders, anchoring himself to his body. He crawled in between Jensen’s legs, nudging them apart to accommodate himself. He ran his fingers over Jensen’s hips and thighs, enjoying the little gasps coming from Jensen’s parted lips and feeling the tremors that ran through his body. “So good for me. Love to fuck you. Gonna breed you,” he said as his fingers circled around Jensen’s slick rim. He pushed in one finger, and moaned along with Jensen as he did. He worked his finger in an out, adding a second and then a third, opening Jensen, readying him for his cock. He withdrew his fingers, slicked his cock and pushed into Jensen’s body in one fluid movement. 

 

Jensen’s closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasure that Jared’s fingers was bringing him. He bit his bottom lip, trying to stop the moan that was about to escape his lips as Jared fucked into him with three fingers. He gave a low moan as Jared worked him open, readying him to take Jared’s cock. With that thought he felt his body release more slick. “Jared,” he managed to get out before he mewled again, trying to get Jared to breach him. He wanted to be bred by his mate. He hissed when Jared’s cock entered him and then let his body go pliant as Jared rocked into him. He brought his hands up to grab at Jared’s shoulders as Jared’s rocking turning into forceful thrusts. “Mate, Jared,” he moaned as he closed his eyes.

 

“No, look at me,” Jared gritted out as he fucked into Jensen. “Need to see your eyes.” 

 

Jensen’s eyes snapped open at Jared’s words. He looked up at Jared, not taking his eyes off of him. He gasped as he felt Jared’s fingers encircle his throbbing cock. Jared’s fingers ran over the tip of his cock, spreading precome over the sensitive flesh, sweetening the glide. He began to pant as his orgasm started to course through his body.

 

Jared felt the change in Jensen’s body. He could tell that Jensen was ready to come. He knew Jensen was holding back, waiting for him to come in him. He locked the arm that was holding him up and looked down at Jensen.  Jensen was beautiful like this, taking everything Jared had to give him. “Gonna come for me? Don’t hold back,” he said as he fisted Jensen’s cock in time to his thrusts. 

 

Hearing that, Jensen tossed his head to the side baring his throat to Jared as he came, spilling over Jared’s hand and his own stomach. 

 

Jared let go of Jensen’s cock. He surged forward and brought his lips to Jensen’s throat in a soft kiss before he bit the tender flesh. He felt Jensen’s hips buck up to meet his thrusts and heard Jensen’s mewls as he came. His thrusts became erratic as he was hit with his own orgasm, his come spilling into Jensen’s fluttering channel. He nuzzled at the bitten skin, kissing and running his tongue over the area as he gently pulled out of Jensen’s body. 

 

He dropped onto his side, pulling Jensen flush with his body. He heard the contented purr coming from Jensen. He placed his hand on Jensen’s chest, enjoying the feeling of the rumble as the purring intensified. It never got old, knowing that he was the cause of Jensen’s purring and contentment.

 

Jensen snuggled closer to Jared, feeling his warmth and basking in it. He was perfectly willing to lay there in their bed and forget about the outside world and meeting Jared’s family. But, apparently, Jared had other ideas.

 

“Come on, my dear mate. We need to get up and get dressed. We should have left over an hour ago,” Jared said as he rolled away from Jensen’s warmth. He hoped that by doing that, he would be able to cajole Jensen up. He knew Jensen would much rather wrap himself around his larger body, sucking up his body heat.

 

“No, stay here, in our bed. It’s nice here. You can breed me again,” Jensen said, raising an arm to try to grab onto Jared’s hand, attempting to pull him back into the comfort of their bed.

 

Jared chuckled at Jensen as he shook his head. “Sorry, as tempting as that is, we need to go.” He turned his back on Jensen, grabbed his clothes off the floor and disappeared into the bathroom to freshen up and dress. When he returned he found Jensen was up and pulling his clothes out of the closet. 

 

Jensen gave Jared an angry glare over his shoulder as he walked past him to go into the bathroom. “I don’t want to go,” he grumbled as he closed the door. Once inside he looked at himself in the mirror. He saw his green eyes looking back at himself, saw his pink tinged skin and smiled. Jared had done that to him. He turned the faucet on and splashed himself with water. As he dressed he felt fear creeping in on himself. He was worried about how Jared’s family would react to him. Would they like him? Would they think he was good enough for Jared? Would they accept him as Jared’s mate if and when they learned the truth about him? Jared said everything would be fine. Jared would protect him, never let anyone hurt him or try to tear them apart. He wanted so badly to believe that. 

 

As it turned out, his fears were unfounded. Jared’s family had welcomed him into the fold and treated him as one of their own. The only cause for concern was when Jared had referred to him as his mate instead of his boyfriend. It had been after dinner with Jared’s parents and sister when it had happened. Jared’s older brother Jeff had arrived late, having worked a long shift at the hospital. Jared had been so happy to introduce Jeff to him and in his excitement had introduced him as his mate. The room had gone silent at hearing that. His heart had nearly stopped beating and his blood turned to ice in his veins as he waited for someone, anyone to speak.

 

Jeff had cocked his head to the side and eyed him before turning to Jared. “Mate? That’s an interesting way to introduce your boyfriend.”

 

Jared looked at Jensen, his wide eyes mirroring that of Jensen’s. He saw the fear in Jensen’s eyes as Jensen turned toward him. He knew he had just screwed up, massively. He cleared his throat, reached out for Jensen and pulled him in close to his body, protecting him. “Sorry,” he mumbled against the shell of Jensen’s ear. He really had never meant to say anything. It had just slipped out. “Mom, Dad, Jeff, Megan . . .” he started and then looked at Jensen. He saw Jensen standing there, leaning against him with his head down. He could feel Jensen trembling against him. “Jensen and I are mated. Jensen is a were, a were-cat. I hope you can accept him. If you can’t I understand. Just know that love him. There’s no one else for me.” He stopped speaking and leaned in to Jensen, kissing the side of his head. He reached out with his free hand running it along Jensen’s arm, hoping to soothe him.

 

“Well, I wish we had known. I would have made something other than a chicken to celebrate your mating,” Sherri, Jared’s mother said as she stepped forward, grabbing Jensen’s hands in hers. “I don’t care if your an alien from Mars, as long you make my son happy, that’s all that matters to me.” She squeezed Jensen’s hands emphasizing her words. 

 

“Congratulations, son,” Gerry, Jared’s father said as he clasped Jared on the shoulder. 

 

Jared looked over to his parents, a look of shock on his face. “You don’t care?”

 

Gerry laughed. “Of course not, not about that. We have a few friends that are weres. What I care about is the fact that you thought you needed to hide this from us. Did you really think we wouldn’t accept Jensen?” Gerry asked in a perplexed voice.  

 

Jared let go of Jensen and rocked back and forth on his feet. “I just didn’t want you to think less of him. Or make Jensen feel like he wasn’t wanted. I’m sorry for not giving you enough credit in that, in thinking you would treat him any differently than me.”

 

“So, does this mean, this mate thing, that you’re like married or something?” Megan asked as she looked back and forth from Jensen to Jared.

 

“Yeah, that’s what it means,” Jeff interjected. He turned and offered Jared a handshake. “I’m happy for you both.”

 

“That’s so cool!” Megan exclaimed before surprising Jensen with a hug. “Welcome to the family,” she said as she reached up to kiss Jensen on the cheek. “So, are you gonna put a ring on his finger? Because you should, or someone’s gonna try to steal him.” She giggled as she watched Jensen and Jared’s cheeks turned pink. 

 

Jared grabbed his hand, causing him to look up at five smiling faces, but the one that really mattered to him was Jared’s. He returned their smiles, letting his eyes rest on Jared’s face.

 

“We haven’t really talked about it. But, I guess we should, when we get home. Talk about rings or something.” Jared looked over at Jensen, concern coloring his face. “Are you okay? I know I messed up, told you I wouldn’t say anything unless you were alright with it.”

 

He swallowed a few times before finally answering Jared. “I’m overwhelmed. I didn’t think this would happen. Most don’t readily accept a were, especially one matted to a human.” He looked down at his feet again trying to take in everything that was happening. 

 

“Jensen’s really shy and not only did I just introduce him to all of you but I just outed him for being a mated were-cat.” He looked down at his feet in shame with himself. He shook his head, not knowing if there was a way he could ever make this up to Jensen. Raising his head, he looked pointedly at his family. “Could you keep that to yourselves about Jensen? It hasn’t always been a warm reception for him or any were when their secret has been revealed.” He ended up giving them a combination of his puppy dog eyes and a pleading look.

 

“Of course we will,” Sherry said. “Who knows about you being mated? Were your parents accepting of Jared?” She asked with concern. 

 

Jensen nodded still trying to find his voice. “Yes . . . yes, they were very accepting of Jared and our mating,” he stated. His parents had been weary at first when he had called to tell them that he had met someone, a human. They had cautioned him about his safety and about not getting in over his head. Of course, he hadn’t listened to them. He had fallen for Jared, despite himself. Thankfully it had worked out between himself and Jared. “The loved him when they came up to meet him.”

 

“Good, good,” Sherry responded with a sigh of relief. “Sometimes he can be hard to adjust to.” She laughed when she saw the glare that Jared shot her. “Well, it’s true!”

 

After the initial shock of the unexpected news, everyone retreated into the living room to get to know Jensen better. He was still quiet, mulling things over as the night unfolded. On the drive home he fell into silence as they drove home. Jared reached over and placed a hand on Jensen’s thigh, drawing his attention. “I’m such an idiot sometimes. My brain and mouth don’t always agree on things. I really am sorry. I never meant for that to happen.” 

 

“I know,” Jensen said quietly, not meeting Jared’s passing glance. “It went better than I had hoped and your family is really nice,” he said as he finally turned to look at Jared. “Your mother and father both told me they were happy for us and that they were thrilled you had found someone to settle down with.”

 

“Good,” Jared responded. “Because if they aren’t . . .  I’ll just have to make it clear to them that you mean the world to me. I meant what I said, I will never let anyone harm you. And, you’re it for me. There will never be anyone else.”

 

The rest of the drive was done is silence until Jensen reached over and turned the radio on. He found the music soothing as he laid his head against the headrest and drifted off to sleep. When they arrived home, Jared gently woke him, helped him from the car to their bedroom and then into bed. The next morning, he was up at his usual time, getting ready to go into work. It was a Saturday, and he knew his store would be busy. He always looked forward to being in his store, surrounding himself with his beloved books and helping someone find that special book that brought them on a journey of discovery. As he finished dressing, he looked down at Jared, and wished he could crawl back into bed with him. 

 

He had never thought it was possible for him to find someone who would accept him for who and what he was. He had thought that as soon as Jared discovered his secret that Jared would leave him. He never thought that not only would Jared admit that he loved him, but that Jared would be willing to mate with him. Now three months later, they were living together as a mated couple and had met each other’s parents. And to their delight, their parents and Jared’s siblings had accepted their mating. The thing he had agonized over was finally over. He gave Jared’s sleeping form a wistful smile before leaving their bedroom. He needed to leave now if he was going to make it in time to open the store.

 

An hour after Jensen had left, Jared had finally risen from the bed. He hadn’t been pleased to find Jensen’s side empty and cold. He tossed aside the bedding, got up and went in search of Jensen. As he rounded the corner to the kitchen, he realized it was Saturday and that Jensen was already at his store. He frowned at that knowledge. Had Jensen woken him, he would have gladly accompanied him to  _ The Book Seller _ and spent the day there with Jensen or walked the block to his accounting firm,  _ It Figures _ , to make sure that everything was in order for when the firm opened on Monday. He poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot Jensen had left and made his way into their office. He could always do a few things from home. He pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, ready to jot down a few ideas he had when the thought came to him, he really didn’t know all that much about weres. That was how he found himself in their office, making a list of questions to ask Jensen when he returned home that night.  He scribbled on the paper, making a list and reading it as he went.

 

Why did Jensen call himself an omega, what exactly was that?

 

What did it mean when Jensen referred to him as his alpha? Even Jensen’s parents had called him that as they had said their goodbyes the night they met. 

 

Why was baring his neck so important to Jensen at times? Especially when they were making love?

 

Why did Jensen refer to their love making as breeding? 

 

Did Jensen ever expect him to breed him in his cat form? He shuddered as he wrote that down. God, he hoped that wasn’t something Jensen wanted. He knew he would never be able to touch Jensen like that. Never, ever, that was a hard hell NO!

 

Did Jensen want a wedding ring? Megan had brought up a good point about putting a ring on Jensen’s finger. He really didn’t like the idea of anyone else trying to hit on his husband - mate.

 

Should they have a get together with their combined parents? He knew it was only a matter of time before his mother started asking about that. It was better to make the preemptive strike before there was a demand to meet Jensen’s parents.

 

He reread his list. Satisfied that he had covered everything he had been wondering about, he tossed the pad aside, got up and wandered into the kitchen to make himself something to eat. An hour later, he picked up his phone and dialed the store’s number. He was missing Jensen and wanted to hear his voice. The call was picked up on the fifth ring. It must be busy, he thought to himself, if it took that long for Jensen or one of his employees to answer the phone. 

 

“The  _ Book Seller _ , this is Matt, how can I help you?” Jared had met Matt a handful of times, along with Jensen’s other employee, Felicia. They were both likable. They cared about Jensen and his store.

 

“Hey Matt, it’s Jared. Is Jensen around?”

 

“Hey, Jared. He’s around somewhere. We got slammed pretty hard. There’s a  _ Harry Potter _ event happening today. We can’t keep the shelves stocked.” 

 

He could hear Matt covering the phone and calling Jensen’s name and then the phone being handed over. “Jared,” Jensen said breathlessly. “It’s crazy here. Who knew with the new movie coming out that there would be such a push for all things magical?” 

 

Jared chuckled at hearing Jensen babble over the phone. “Well, I did warn you that magic existed and people, especially preteens, found it fascinating.”

 

“Yes, you did oh wise one,” Jensen shot back returning Jared’s chuckle. “Is everything alright?” He asked as he sobered up.

 

“Yes, I was just missing you and wanted to hear your voice. I would have gone in with you if you had woken me.”

 

“You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to bother you. Plus, you’ve been working all those long hours to get through tax season.”

 

“Well, next time wake me, at least to say goodbye,” Jared grumbled goodnaturedly at Jensen.

 

“Yes, alpha” Jensen whispered back. “I gotta go, there’s a customer asking for me. I’ll be home after I close the store.”

 

“You’re not closing alone, are you? If you are, I’ll be down.” He knew it was silly to suddenly feel protective of Jensen. Jensen had owned the store for over three years before they had even met. Jensen had closed the store by himself many times on his own, but he did feel protective. And hearing Jensen whisper ‘yes, alpha’, brought out the protective side of himself. He knew it was irrational to think this way, Jensen was four years older than him. Jensen had been on his own since leaving home after attending college; Jensen had been taking care of himself just fine until Jared had come along. But, he just couldn’t help himself. He knew there would always be a part of him that felt the need to protect Jensen, care for him in anyway he could. 

 

“No, Matt and Felicia are both here until I close. Nothing to worry about. I gotta go. I love you.”

 

“See you at home, love you too,” Jared said and then ended their call. Jared spent the rest of the day catching up on a few work issues, napping and binge watching a few shows. By seven that night, he was pacing back and forth in the living room, waiting for Jensen to get home. At nearly eight, he heard the tell-tale sign of Jensen’s key sliding into the lock of the front door. He heaved a sigh of relief that Jensen was home. He forced himself not to rush to the door, yank it open and pull Jensen inside. He stood rooted to the spot in the floor that he was sure he had worn a hole in with his pacing. He turned to watch as Jensen entered the room, a tired smile on his face. “Hey,” Jared said and felt the tension that had been building in his body being to ebb away at seeing Jensen.

 

“Hey, yourself,” Jensen said as he walked over and wrapped his arms around Jared. He breathed in Jared’s scent, musk and spice and sighed, happy to be home. “So glad to be home,” he said as he reached up to kiss Jared. He frowned at Jared, sensing something was wrong with him. “Everything alright?” 

 

“What? Yeah, just missed you. Did you eat? Want me to make you something?” He offered as Jensen toed off his shoes and tossed his coat over the armchair closest to the doorway. He stood, silently watching as Jensen went about his nightly routine.

 

“No, I’m good. Had to eat a late lunch,” he chuckled as he spoke. “You won’t believe how bare some of the shelves are. But, we pulled through. Thank God today is over.” He looked at Jared, noticed how quiet he was and felt a note of concern creep over him. Jared was never quiet. He hadn’t thought it was possible for the man to be silent or stop moving, but he had done both. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

 

Jared looked at Jensen. How was he supposed to ask his questions now that Jensen was standing in front of him. He ran his hand over his face, stalling for a moment before he walked out of the room. He could feel Jensen’s eyes on his back as he went into their office to retrieve the pad of paper with his questions on it. He returned to find Jensen standing where he had left him. He could see the look of panic on Jensen’s face. Hell, he could feel Jensen’s panic as his green eyes tracked his movements. He looked down at the paper in his hands and then at Jensen. He took a deep breath and then blew it out. “I um . . . This is awkward,” he finally said with a sheepish glance to Jensen. He saw that his words weren’t helping to alleviate what Jensen was feeling. “Okay, so I know we’re mated and what that means, but I’m at a loss over a few things,” he said as he sank down onto the couch. He looked up at Jensen through his bangs. “I have questions. I need answers.”

 

Jensen watched Jared as he spoke. He could tell how hard this was for the larger man. Jared was the confident one in their relationship. Seeing him reduced to someone who appeared insecure before him was heartbreaking to look at. He felt a stab of pain hit him as he crossed to stand in front of Jared. He sank down onto to his haunches, took the paper from Jared and placed it on the table. He then reached for Jared’s hands, taking them in his. He took a calming breath before he spoke. “What can I do? How can I help?” He moved to rest on the coffee table, waiting for Jared to answer him.

 

Jared reached past Jensen and picked up the paper. He looked down at it, trying to find the right way to pose his questions. “I, ah, wrote some things down. I love you, you know that, right?” He looked into Jensen’s green eyes, searched his face for some reassurance. He was met with a smile filled with love from Jensen. “I just got to thinking about a few things, I have questions and then I realized that there are things about you that I don’t know . . .” 

 

Jensen nodded. “Okay, ask away. I’ll do my best to answer anything you ask.” He gave Jared’s hand that he still held a squeeze. He sucked in his bottom lip and worried it between his lips. He knew where this was heading. Jared had questions; ones normally he would have shied away from answering. The inner workings of a pride as well as life as a were were never discussed to outsiders. But, he was prideless, and Jared was his mate. He would do his best to answer anything Jared asked of him.

 

Jared took in a ragged breath and then looked down at their joined hands. He nodded to himself. Okay, it was time to ask his questions and hopefully get some answers. “You said you’re an omega. What is that? What exactly does it mean?” He watched as Jensen cocked his head, as a thoughtful look crept onto his face.

 

“In a pack or pride, which is what I was part of as a were-cat, there’s a hierarchy; alpha, beta and omega. The alpha is the leader, the strongest out of us all. They’re usually the protectors of the pride. There’s also the pride alpha who rules the entire pride; his word is law. The beta is usually the second in command in the pride. They oversee certain aspects in the pride’s life and well-being as a whole. The omega is the lowest member of the pride. They are seen as the one to take aggression out on.” He stopped speaking when he heard a sharp gasp from Jared and the look of pain on his face. Jensen swallowed a few times before speaking. “But they can also be the ones who instigate play and relieve the tension within the pride.”

 

“Is that . . . is that what happened to you?” Jared couldn’t even look at Jensen as he asked the question. It felt like his heart was being crushed just asking that. Had the pride taken their aggression out on Jensen, made him fearful of the world? Made him so shy that even now he found it difficult to be around others? He knew his thoughts were true when he saw Jensen close his eyes, trying to get his emotions under control.

 

“Sometimes . . .” He heard the pain in his voice as he thought over his past. The taunting words from some of his beta and alpha  _ friends _ .  _ Omega _ ,  little O or ‘mega he had been called. It was said as if it was a derogatory remark. But it was better than being called an omega slut. His parents had instilled in him to think of being an omega as an honor instead of something to be ashamed of. “It was more kids being kids than anything else. Life in a pride is different than in the human world. You have a family unit. We have that, but we also have the entire pride to fall back on. Sometimes the pride can have a collective mind and take their aggression, their anger out on one or several members. Then, when things have settled down, everyone is calm. But, things have changed in a lot of prides, just not mine. Omegas, in many other prides, are now seen as life givers, miracle makers since they can be both male and female.”

 

“Life givers, miracle makers?” Jared asked in confusion.

 

Jensen could feel the heat burning his face as he blushed. “Yeah, a few of the betas can conceive, have cubs. But, it can be difficult for them. So, the pride turns to the omegas to fulfill that role and the role of caregiver and at times teacher.”

 

“Is that why you left?” Jared sat straighter as he asked his question. “I mean, can you . . . Can we?”

 

“Can I conceive? Yes, if I mated with another were-cat and not on suppressants to stop my body from going into heat. I don’t know if it’s possible for us, a human and a were to have our own cub. No one has ever heard of it. But, then again, it would probably be kept quiet. It’s not like a pride shouts it from the rooftop that a member has gone rogue. Which is essentially what I did when I left. If I had stayed, I might have been on my fourth or fifth litter now. I might not have had a say in any of it. I might have been forced into a mating with an alpha, someone I didn’t love, who didn’t love me. Who wouldn’t let me out of our home. There was an alpha sniffing around dropping hints that he wanted to mate with me when I finished college. He was a traditionalist and so was the pride alpha. My parents didn’t want that for me. I didn’t want that. I wanted to have my own life, even if that meant never finding a mate,” Jensen said quietly. 

 

Jared heard the pain in Jensen’s voice. He realized at that moment just how much Jensen had been through. How much he had never known about Jensen’s life before they had met. How lucky he was that Jensen loved him, that Jensen allowed himself to be loved by Jared.

 

“Why do you call me alpha? Tonight, you said ‘yes alpha’ when we were talking. You’ve done it at other times. Your parents called me that. I just don’t know what that means, what is expect of me,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

 

Jensen scrunched his face up, trying to figure out how to explain how he saw Jared. “In the human world, you would call me your boyfriend when we were just dating. And now, you call me your husband because we’re mated. To me, you’re my alpha, and that’s how my parents see you. That’s a sign of honor from them and from me. And, nothing is expected from you, you only have to love me.” He watched as Jared opened his mouth to protest. He could tell where this was going with Jared. “Not all alphas are bad, just like not all men are bad. My father’s an alpha and not like that. And while my mother is an omega and would have followed her alpha-mate’s rule, they’ve never treated me  harshly. You love me, for me. You’ve never forced me to do anything I didn’t want or wasn’t ready for. You protect me. You treat me like your equal. Tonight, when we spoke, you told me to wake you next time. To me, as an omega, that was like you issuing an order. It was just natural for me to respond in that manner.”

 

“I would never force you to do anything. I didn’t mean to issue you an order,” Jared said in earnest.

 

“I know.” Jensen reached out to touch Jared’s cheek, running his fingers against the stubble on his jaw. “It just happened. But, sometimes it’s not a bad thing, especially in a breeding,” he said as he raised an eyebrow and gave Jared a sly smile.

 

“Oh. Oh!” Jared responded when he realized what Jensen was referring to. Jared coughed as his cheeks turned pink. He felt his cock start to stir and he shifted, needing to turn away from Jensen as he tried to get his labido under control. “Is that why you bare your neck to me when we’re making love? And why don’t you call it that? Why do you always say you want to be bred?” 

 

“Yes, as my mate, my alpha, I’m showing you my submission. It’s common and sometimes I guess I do it without realizing. As a mated omega, in a pride, I would have my alpha’s bite mark to show the rest of the members that I was claimed. That no one had the right to touch me. As for breeding versus making love, it’s just something we’ve always called it. Maybe because in the beginning, the members of a pride only came together to copulate in order to increase the pride numbers. The alphas would breed the betas and omegas to spread their seed, to increase the chances on healthy cubs being born. It wasn’t done then as a way to show their mate that they were cherished and loved.”

 

Jared sat back as he took in what Jensen had said. “That’s sad,” he said in a whisper as he reached out to give Jensen a loving caress. “That’s sad that they might not have been cherished, loved by their mate. You know I do cherish you, that I love you with all my heart.”

 

“Of course I do. There’s never been a moment since we mated that I’ve ever questioned your feelings towards me.”

 

With his next question on his lips, Jared felt his cheeks begin to burn in embarrassment. How the hell was he suppose to ask this question. What if the answer was yes? What was he going to do about that? He would never deny Jensen anything, but that would be crossing a line he just didn’t think he could and still look himself in the eye. “Ah, you don’t expect me to breed you in your cat form?” Please say no, his mind screamed. 

 

Hearing Jared ask him if he felt the desire for Jared to breed him in his cat form had Jensen tossing his head back in laughter. “Ew, no! No way. Yes, my cat is close to the surface, but no, never.” Jensen shuddered at the thought of Jared breeding him in his cat form.  

 

“Oh, thank God. Because, that . . . that I could never bring myself to do.” He gave Jensen a smile as he continued. “I love your cat form, you’re beautiful. I enjoy grooming you, petting you and rubbing your belly. But, I really love you in your human form. It’s so much better when I can hug and kiss you and hear those sounds you make when I fuck you.” He ran his hand over Jensen’s arm, letting his hand drift to one of Jensen’s pecks and tweaked his nipple. He smiled when he heard the slight gasp from Jensen, knowing that his actions had stirred Jensen’s arousal, the same arousal he felt for Jensen. 

 

“Jared!” Jensen turned his face away from Jared as he started to blush. He had to concentrate on getting himself under control as he felt his want for Jared rising. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to let Jared take him. His mind started chanting  _ matebreednow _ . But, he knew now wasn’t the time to give in to that instinct, to have Jared breed him. Jared had questions that he needed to answer. 

 

“What? It’s the truth,” Jared shot back at Jensen with a throaty laugh. He edged closer to the table and pulled Jensen in for a needy kiss. He kissed and nipped at Jensen’s lips before swiping his tongue along the seam of Jensen’s mouth. He felt Jensen part his lips, granting him access to his mouth. He pushed his tongue in, mapping Jensen’s mouth and tasting him. God he wanted to take Jensen right now. He wanted to turn Jensen around, bend him over the coffee table and fuck him. He groaned and then palmed his cock. He was getting off track. He needed to finish his conversation with Jensen. He pulled away and heard the soft mewl that escaped Jensen’s throat. 

 

Jensen closed his eyes as he felt Jared pull away from him. His chest was heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Jared had such an affect on him. He ran his tongue over his kiss swollen lips, tasting Jared on them and gave another soft mewl.

 

“Sorry we’re getting off track.” He forced himself to move away from Jensen, settling himself against the back of the couch. “I never asked since we’re mated, but do you want a ring?” He looked down at his own hand imagining a wedding ring on his left finger. Suddenly, he wanted that. He wanted them to wear matching rings. He wanted others to know that he was taken. He wanted the world to know that Jensen was his, that no one else could have him. It would be his version of what Jensen had called a bite mark.   

 

Jensen sat back on the table and looked at his left hand. He had never thought about it before, wearing a ring. “That’s a big show of a commitment,” he said quietly. “Others would know, or at least think that you’re married. There would be no hiding that we’re together.” He couldn’t look at Jared as he spoke. While he knew Jared loved him, was mated to him, he just didn’t know where this question was going. He also knew that Jared could end things with him if or when he wanted to. Their mating wasn’t one within a pride where they would truly be bonded life mates; the only way to end their life together would be when one was taken in death. At that moment he envied what his parents had. Here, trying to survive in the human world had Jensen second guessing things at times. Was he good enough for Jared? Did he truly make Jared happy? He thought he did, he hoped he did. Should he have just submitted to his pride alpha’s rule and stayed within the pride? 

 

“I don’t want you thinking that I’m hiding anything. Everyone knows about you. That we’re together. They just don’t know the nature of our relationship, that we’re mated except our families.” He winced again at the thought of how that had come about with his own family. “You say mate, but I think of you as my husband. I want everyone to know that you’re mine. I may be human, but I’m your alpha and you’re my omega. This is essentially our little pride here in our home. Maybe I am more of an alpha than I thought. But, I don’t want anyone else touching you. Ever,” he growled out surprising himself and Jensen.

 

They could only stare at each other at Jared’s outburst. Jared opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the right words to say. “I’m sorry. I had no right to act that way. I’m not that guy. The guy who gets all possessive over . . .” He was cut short when Jensen climbed into his lap, straddled his thighs and flung his arms around his neck. He felt Jensen grinding himself against him as Jensen kissed and sucked along his neck.

 

“My alpha, only yours,” Jensen whispered along the flesh of Jared’s neck. “I want to wear your ring. I want everyone to know that I’m yours.” His heart was hammering in his chest and he knew Jared could feel it as he pressed himself against Jared’s body. 

 

“God, Jensen. You make me so happy. I’m so lucky to be your mate, your alpha, your husband,” He placed a hand on Jensen’s chest over his heart, feeling it beat. “You make me so happy, never doubt that, and I’ll do anything to make you happy,” he breathed out against the shell of Jensen’s ear. “Tomorrow, tomorrow I want to go shopping for rings.” He could feel Jensen shaking his head yes against his chest. He forced himself to pull away from Jensen by placing his hands on Jensen’s shoulders, holding him at arm’s length. He saw the confusion in Jensen’s eyes.

 

“What? Did I do something wrong?” Jensen asked as he cast his eyes downward, moving back to sit on the table. He had somehow done something to upset Jared enough to push him away. He didn’t normally initiate Jared’s breeding of him and he had just done that by straddling Jared’s lap and showing his desire for his mate. In his pride, that wasn’t done and it would have been the right of whatever alpha he would have been mated to, to reprimand him in whichever way his alpha would have seen fit. He drew in a sharp breath, waiting for Jared to reprimand him for overstepping his boundaries.   

 

“No, of course not.” He caught Jensen by the chin, lifting Jensen’s face up so they could look at each other. His heart broke at the thought that Jensen actually thought he had done something wrong, that he was somehow displeased with Jensen’s actions. “I just wanted to finish talking.” He watched as Jensen tried to pull away from him; he was confused by Jensen’s reaction. “Jensen, talk to me,” he said quietly. He could sense Jensen closing in on himself and he was determined not to let that happen.

 

“I upset you, overstepped my bounds,” Jensen responded in a near whisper. “You can . . .” He swallowed trying to get the words out of his mouth. He could feel the tears forming and he tried to calm himself. This was the first time he had done something where he thought Jared would reprimand him. He was losing his battle against stopping the tears. He didn’t dare move to wipe them away. 

 

“I can what?” Jared asked in confusion. “Jensen why are you crying?” He had no idea what had just happened. He and Jensen had been talking and then becoming intimate. Yes, he had decided to put a hold on that, wanting to finish the conversation before he took Jensen to their bed. But now, Jensen was crying, Jensen wasn’t even looking at him and he was speaking in near whispers. 

 

“You can reprimand me as you see fit,” he croaked out and then flinched. Who was he to tell Jared that? He braced himself for Jared’s anger.

 

“What?” Jared asked, not bothering to hide the horror he was feeling at Jensen’s words. “You think . . . No, never. I would never raise my hands to you. And, there are no boundaries between us. This is a relationship of love.” He closed his eyes and took in a few even breaths, trying to calm himself down. What the fuck went on in Jensen’s pride? What had Jensen been subjected to as a member before he left? “Is that why you’re always so reserved? Why you wait for me to initiate?” He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around this revelation. He watched as Jensen nodded his head, still not daring to look at him. He brought his hands up to his head and rubbed them over his face. 

 

“Omegas in my pride don’t have the right. They are only supposed to be bred when their alpha wants them,” Jensen choked out.

 

“Jensen, that’s not what happens in a relationship. That’s not what I want for our relationship. We’re equals, you said that yourself. That I treat you like an equal. That includes everything, even when we’re intimate. If suddenly you feel the desire for me to breed you, - in his head he was still referring to it as making love, but was finding it easier to call it breeding in order to appease Jensen -  you don’t have to hold back.”

 

Did Jensen’s alpha father  _ reprimand _ not only his omega mother, but him as well? Jared closed his eyes. How could he even ask that question? But, he had to know if that had happened to Jensen along with the bullying. He grabbed Jensen’s hands in his and flinched when Jensen let out a slight hiss. He realized too late that he had applied too much pressure in his gesture. “Jensen, did your father reprimand you or your mother like that?”

 

Jensen shook his head. “No, never. He would never do anything like that. He’s not a traditionalist. But there are others in our pride, like I told you, who are. Who didn’t think twice about reprimanding their mate how they saw fit. I was hit, but not by my alpha father and certainly not by my omega mother. Sometimes the alphas or betas in my litter group would. Our pride wasn’t always like that. It all depends on who the pride alpha is and what the alpha decrees as law.”

 

“Then why didn’t your parents leave the pride like you did?” Jared asked. 

 

Jensen shifted on the table, trying to find a more comfortable position. “They have a life there. They have friends and jobs. They helped me to leave and stood up against the backlash. But, to them, it’s their home. My father just couldn’t take the idea of his omega son being forced into a mating. When I came home one night . . . with bruises, he had had enough. He and my mother helped me leave.” 

 

“Bruises!” Jared growled out. “What bruises? Who hurt you!” Jared’s chest was heaving, his nostrils flaring and his eyes darkened in anger. Someone had tried to hurt Jensen and he was going to kill them. 

 

“It was an alpha. The one I told you about. He tried to force me . . .  tried to force me to mate with him. But, I got away. I had some bruises from it and . . .”

 

“Never again.” Jared’s voice deepened in anger as he spoke. “Never again will anyone . . . try to hurt you,” Jared spit out. “You’re safe, that’s all that matters,” he said as he pulled Jensen off of the table to sit on his lap. He needed to hold Jensen right now, to know that Jensen was there with him and in one piece. 

 

Jensen gave Jared a sad smile as he tucked his head into the side of Jared’s neck, taking in the comforting scent of his mate. “I guess you’re having second thoughts on being mated to me.” He couldn’t hide the sadness in his voice as he spoke. “I don’t blame you if you do.”

 

“Never,” Jared said fiercely as he pulled Jensen to him, offering him comfort in the form of a hug. He needed the comfort as much as he knew Jensen did. They were both spent emotionally. He had learned a lot more than he had ever thought he would by just asking a few questions. He was angry, he could feel his body trembling as he seethed with it. He tried to take a few calming breaths. He needed to be strong for Jensen, he had to calm down or he wouldn’t be any good to the man he held in his arms. “Never for one minute have I had a second thought about being mated to you. I have never regretted being with you. I just didn’t understand what your life was like before we met, before you left the pride. I understand you better now, the reason why you’re shy, why you’re so quiet.” He himself went quiet as he ran a hand down Jensen’s back. He felt Jensen press himself against his body. “I love you. I’m so proud to be with you.”

 

“You are? You still want me after everything?” Jensen said as he closed his eyes. He felt a spike of fear as he asked that question hit his heart. 

 

“Jensen, In my heart I’m married to you. There will never be anyone but you. If I have to spend the rest of my life telling you that, I will.” Jared paused a moment before asking his last question. After everything they had talked about, after learning so much about Jensen tonight, he kind of dreading asking this, adding to any stress Jensen was already dealing with. But it was inevitable. “Should we have a get together with our combined parents? It’s only a matter of time before my mother starts asking about that. It’s probably better to get it over with before she demands to meet your parents.” He waited for Jensen to answer him. And waited. 

 

“Um, when?” Jensen responded in a small voice. 

 

“How about as a celebration of us exchanging rings? It doesn’t have to be anything big, just a small gathering of your parents, my parent and my sister and brother. You already know everyone, so it shouldn’t be overwhelming for you. We can have it here where you’d be the most comfortable,” Jared offered. 

 

“How does this work?” Jensen asked as he tilted his head up to look at Jared. “Exchanging rings, being your husband?” Jensen knew the term, but had never bothered to research it. There had been no need to while he had been living in the pride and since he thought he would never mate with anyone, especially a human, he had never given it another thought. Now, Jared would have to tell him what was expected of him. 

 

“We have a ceremony where we vow to love, honor and take care of each other for the rest of our lives.” He purposefully left the traditional  _ obey _ aspect out. He wanted nothing to do with that. That word would never be part of any vow he made to Jensen, not after everything he had learned today. “Then, we exchange rings, showing that we’re married to each other. We’ll just need to find someone to oversee our union.” Jared said as he racked his brain trying to figure out who they could ask. This was Texas after all and the state was still behind the times with recognizing and accepting same sex marriages. But, he wasn’t about to let that stop them. He wanted Jensen to be known as his husband. 

 

“My father is an alpha, he would sanction our union. He already recognizes you as my alpha and my mate. He already approves of you so there wouldn’t be an issue of my family opposing you as my husband,” Jensen offered. “He could even force the pride to accept you so no one would fight you for me.” 

 

“Fight me for you? What the hell does that mean?” Jared asked, sitting up and nearly dumping Jensen onto the floor in his haste. Hastily he reached out to stop Jensen from landing on his ass and helped him to sit on the table again.

 

Jensen closed his eyes and took a breath. “Even though I left the pride, an alpha can still try to mate me. This way, the pride would have to recognize you as my alpha, even though you’re human. I haven’t come across another alpha since leaving the pride, but it could happen. Every once and awhile the alphas leave for business or for time away from the pride. I’m far enough away from the pride that they’ve never ventured this far, but you never know what could happen. This way, all the alphas of the pride would be notified that I have a human alpha and that they can’t approach me.” Jensen didn’t miss the look of anger that flashed across Jared’s face or the fact that he was the cause of it. “I’m sorry. You’ve been dragged into this life, my life and it’s not fair to you.” 

 

“I knew not everything was going to be puppy dogs and unicorns, it never is in a relationship. I gotta admit, you do keep things interesting.” Jared heaved a sigh. He had never thought things could be so complicated. “So tomorrow, we’ll go shopping for rings,” He said as he stood up and extended a hand to Jensen, helping him to his feet. He saw the confused look Jensen shot him. “Still not going anywhere. We’re mated, remember. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Come on, let’s go to bed.” Jared stood up, extended a hand to Jensen and helped him to his feet and down the hall to their bedroom. When they were ready for bed, he climbed into bed, followed closely by Jensen. He reached out for Jensen, pulling him close to his body, needing to feel Jensen’s body and warmth against him, as he settled against his pillows and let sleep claim him. Whatever else they might need to talk about they could do it in the morning.

 


	3. The Unexpexted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three months have past since human Jared mated with were-cat Jensen. Jared takes Jensen ring shopping and deals with a possible threat to Jensen.

 

The Unexpected

 

Jensen woke in the middle of the night still encased in Jared’s warm embrace. He snuggled in closer, breathing in the scent of Jared. Jared smelled of home and mate, making him feel safe, secure and loved. He had known things wouldn’t be easy between them, Jared was human and didn’t understand what being mated to a were-creature meant or entailed. Maybe he should have taken the time to talk things through with Jared. But, they were mated and Jared had told him he would always want him. Jared loved him. Jared’s words ran through his head,  _ ‘Jensen, In my heart I’m married to you. There will never be anyone but you. If I have to spend the rest of my life telling you that, I will.’  _ He sighed in contentment. He had someone who loved him, valued him and saw him as an equal. That was something he had never even dared to dream about, let alone hope for. He turned in Jared’s arms to face him, placing his nose in the crook of Jared’s neck and breathed in deeply. He felt a wave of desire for Jared wash over him. He gave a small gasp as his body released slick, the want for Jared to breed him rising up in him, pushing any other thoughts he had aside. Breed now, his mind began to chant at him. He fought against the desire, trying to clear his mind. He wanted Jared, wanted to be bred. But, Jared was asleep, he had no right to make that demand of Jared. Or did he? Hadn’t Jared told him earlier that night that he could come to him when he felt the desire to be bred? That he didn’t have to wait for Jared to initiate the breeding. Could he even attempt it? What if they were just words? Alphas said one thing and did another when it came to their omegas. He had seen that enough times in his pride to know that for a fact. There had only been a few exceptions, his parents mating had been one. But, Jared was different, he had proven that time and again. 

 

With a deep breath, one that filled his nostrils of Jared’s enticing scent, he wiggled against Jared, hoping that would wake him. Maybe if Jared woke to his movements, Jared would realize what he wanted. Jared could breed him without him having to make the demand he was still unsure of making on his own. When his movements didn’t stir Jared, he let out a soft mewl, hoping that would do the trick, and waited. When it didn’t, he gave another, louder mewl against Jared’s ear. He took another deep breath and was again hit with Jared’s scent. He felt his body release more slick; he needed to be bred. He gave a few soft kisses along Jared’s jaw, trying to wake him. With that, he felt Jared begin to stir against him. He smiled softly against Jared’s skin and kissed along the column of his neck. 

 

“Jensen?” Jared asked in a sleep-filled voice. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to focus on why he had woken up. It dawned on him that Jensen had woken him. Why? His heart thudded in his chest. Was something wrong with Jensen? Was Jensen sick? He felt Jensen’s lips along his throat. Jensen was kissing him. He felt Jensen wiggle against him, feeling Jensen’s obvious erection. He sucked in a breath and moaned at the scent of Jensen’s arousal. He pulled Jensen to him and ran a hand down Jensen’s back and gently pushed his hand into Jensen’s sleep pants, running his hand over Jensen’s ass. His fingers trailed down the crack of Jensen’s ass and he groaned as his fingers touched over the slick Jensen’s body was producing. 

 

Jensen mewled against Jared’s neck as he felt Jared’s fingers trail against the bare skin of his ass, delving in between the crack of his ass. He pushed back, trying to get Jared’s fingers to breach his body. “Breed,” he hissed out as he crashed his lips over Jared’s, only pulling back when the need for oxygen was too great. “Please, breed me,” he begged to Jared and heard Jared chuckle as Jared bit his neck. 

 

“Anything you want,” Jared said in a husky voice. The thought of Jensen actually initiating their intimacy had him instantly hard. He felt his cock straining against his sleep pants and he withdrew his hands from Jensen’s body only to hear the soft mewl of protest that left Jensen’s lips. He kissed Jensen’s lips and then pulled away. “Can’t breed you if we’re covered in clothing,” he said as he pulled at the back of his t-shirt, pulling it up and over his head and tossing it to the floor. He slid his thumbs underneath the waistband of his sleep pants and pushed them down past his thighs and then off his legs and tossed them to the floor. He watched as Jensen quickly shucked his own clothing. He reached out and clasped a large hand behind Jensen’s neck, pulling him close to him, enjoying the feel of Jensen’s bare skin against his own. He licked at the seam of Jensen’s lips, his tongue demanding entrance to Jensen’s mouth.

 

Jensen parted his lips, giving in to Jared’s kiss and tangled his tongue with Jared’s. He pressed his naked body against Jared’s and gave a soft purr to let Jared know he was enjoying Jared’s touches. He broke the embrace and moved away from Jared to the middle of the bed. Getting on all fours, as he presented himself to Jared. He leaned down on his forearms, raised his ass and arched his back, a sign to Jared to let him know he was ready to be bred. He hung his head low and pressed his chin against his chest and gave a needy mewl as he waited for Jared to touch him. 

 

“God, you’re so beautiful,” Jared breathed out at the sight before him. He reached out and ran his fingers along Jensen’s spine and listened to the inviting sounds coming from Jensen’s lips. He let his fingers circle around Jensen’s rim, savoring the needy mewl that he pulled from Jensen. “So glad you woke me for this,” he whispered as he pushed a finger into Jensen’s tight heat. As much as he wanted to take the time to prep Jensen, he could feel the need to be inside Jensen building. He listened as Jensen mewled again as he pushed another finger in, working them in and out before scissoring them. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold off much longer as he added another finger. He heard Jensen growl softly as he fucked his fingers into Jensen and it was all he could take. He pulled his fingers out of Jensen’s body, used the slick on his fingers to lube his cock and pushed into Jensen in one movement. He groaned as he felt his thighs hit flush against Jensen’s body and forced himself to not move, to give Jensen time to adjust to his cock being pushed in to Jensen’s tight channel.

 

Jensen hissed as Jared breached him. He forced his body to be pliant as he felt Jared push into him. He was fully impaled on Jared’s hard cock and he gave a throaty growl of pleasure, letting Jared know he was ready to take anything Jared gave him. He felt Jared’s hands on his hips and then Jared’s movements as he pulled out, only to thrust back in. “Jared, alpha” he managed to breath out in a moan. He closed his eyes, enjoying the pleasure Jared was giving him. He felt his orgasm building and began to chant  _ Jaredmatebreed _ . 

 

Jared heard Jensen’s chant and knew Jensen was close to his release. He moved one hand around Jensen’s hip, letting it trail along the soft skin until he reached Jensen’s throbbing cock. His fingers circled around it and he began to fist Jensen in time to his thrusts. “Gonna come for me, Jensen, your alpha?” Jared growled out and then heard Jensen call out ‘Alpha’, and then a yowl as he came. He intensified his thrust has his orgasm built within his own body. His hips stuttered as he came, filling Jensen’s channel with his come. He let his body fall forward, blanketing Jensen with his larger body. He nosed at the crook of Jensen’s neck and then gently bit the tender flesh. He smiled as he heard the purr rumbling in Jensen’s chest and kissed over the flesh he had just had in his teeth. “I love you, my incredible mate” he said quietly as he lifted himself off of Jensen’s body and rolled onto his back. 

 

“Love you, my alpha-mate,” Jensen said as he moved closer to Jared, waiting for Jared to allow him to nestle closer to the warmth of his body. 

 

Jared felt a surge of pride and possessiveness course through his body at hearing Jensen’s words, Jensen’s term of endearment toward him. “Come here,” he said as he raised his arm, making room for Jensen to nestle against his chest and curl around his body. He drifted off to sleep with the weight of Jensen’s body against his and the sound of the contented purring rumbling from Jensen. 

 

The next morning Jared slipped from their bed and padded softly to the bathroom to ready himself for the day. He dressed and then looked over at the bed to see that Jensen was still asleep, Jensen’s head was on his pillows and he had a hand fisted in the sheets that had been covering them both. He listened to the soft breaths that escaped Jensen’s parted lips and smiled. He had never thought that he would meet anyone that made him this incredibly happy. He chest swelled with pride at the fact that Jensen was his. Soon, the entire world, or at least Texas, their families and friends would know that Jensen was his and he was Jensen’s. He looked down at his left hand. In time, there would be a ring on his ring finger, one that would match a ring he placed on Jensen’s finger. His smile widened at that thought as he made his way to the kitchen to start the coffee he knew Jensen would so desperately need when he woke up. He had only dealt with Jensen once when he hadn’t had his coffee and it hadn’t been the highlight of that day. He had woken Jensen, wanting to take him out for breakfast. Jensen had cracked his sleep-filled eyes open and had looked at him. The look was one that reminded him of a cat looking at its prey. Then, Jensen’s eyes had darted to his empty hands. Seeing that, Jensen’s lips had curled up and Jensen had snarled at him. Jensen who was usually so shy and quiet had actually snarled at him and he had decided after that day that coffee would always be readily available to his mate. He shuddered at that memory and quickly shoved it to the back of his mind. He waited patiently as the coffee dripped into the carafe before pulling out their mugs. He knew the smell would filter into their bedroom and assaulted Jensen’s finer senses, waking him and drawing him into the kitchen. He poured two cups of coffee, picked one up and turned, arm outstretched as he offered Jensen his black coffee. He didn’t miss the little happy chirp Jensen gave him in response to the coffee.

 

Jensen accepted the coffee from Jared, breathed in the scent and took a sip, savoring the bitter taste as it hit his taste buds. He closed his eyes as he drained his coffee and then opened his eyes to look at Jared, silently pleading for more. He watched as Jared chuckled, grabbed the pot and brought it over to refill his mug. He felt Jared’s lips against his, giving him a quick peck before Jared was back by the counter, replacing the coffee pot and picking up his own cup. He ran his tongue over his lips, tasting the coffee and Jared. He let out a soft purr of satisfaction.

 

Jared brought his cup of coffee up to his mouth, hiding the grin at hearing the purr coming from Jensen. He drank his coffee in silence as he watched Jensen drink his second cup. He wondered if he should bring up what had happened in the middle of the night with Jensen. He was surprised and happy with the turn of events; Jensen initiating a breeding. He knew it had to have taken a lot for Jensen to even attempt that. Should he praise Jensen for his courage or keep quiet? Placing his empty cup in the sink, he reached for Jensen. He took Jensen’s cup from him and added it to be washed with his later. He turned back to Jensen, only to find Jensen looking up at him with wide green eyes, and pulled Jensen against his chest. He nuzzled Jensen’s cheek before speaking. “I . . . yeah, being woken up by you to breed you . . .” He felt Jensen tense in his arms. “That was incredible.” He kissed Jensen’s forehead and felt Jensen begin to relax into his embrace. “Definitely do that again,” he said as he kissed the tip of Jensen’s nose. He pulled away from Jensen and looked at him. “So, are you ready to go ring shopping today?”

 

Jensen regarded Jared before answering him. Jared had liked being woken up. Jared hadn’t been mad that he had felt the desire to breed and had acted on it. Jared still wanted to go ring shopping. He still wasn’t sure about what he had done or if Jared wouldn’t punish him in some way later. He bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders. He still was so unsure of what to do or say around Jared at times. His mind and body always screamed at him to submit to his alpha. If Jared wanted to go ring shopping, who was he to say otherwise? And, he wanted to wear Jared’s ring. To belong to Jared in any way he could. He craved that. And he wanted everyone else to know that he was Jared’s, that Jared loved him, wanted him. 

 

“Jensen, are you alright?”

 

“You’re not mad at me? I woke you up because I wanted to breed . . .” Jensen dropped his gaze to the floor, hoping Jared would see this as a sign of his submission. Maybe seeing that, Jared wouldn’t be so hard on him. 

 

“No, of course not. Would you be mad at me if I had woken you up to breed you? Have you ever been upset that I was the one to initiate us breeding? Has there ever been a time when you didn’t want me to breed you?” Jared asked, uncertainty beginning to creep up on him. Had there ever been a time when he had bred Jensen and Jensen hadn’t wanted it? He knew, after learning about Jensen’s past and his pride, that Jensen most likely would have kept his mouth shut, never protesting, only bending to his alpha’s will and desire. The thought of that happening sickened him, but he had to know. 

 

“No, no never,” Jensen said in earnest. He leaned into Jared’s embrace, needing to feel Jared’s muscular body against his. He shook his head. “No, you’ve never forced me to breed. When we have, even though you initiated it, I wanted you to breed me.”

 

Jared heaved a sigh of relief and a gave silent prayer to whatever God was smiling down on him that his fear had been unfounded. “Good,” he said, pulling back from Jensen and letting him go. “Why don’t you go get dressed, then we can go ring shopping.” He watched as Jensen turned from him and reached out to give Jensen’s ass a playful smack. He heard Jensen mewl as his hand connected with Jensen’s ass. 

 

Jensen cast a questioning glance over his shoulder at Jared as he felt Jared’s hand connect with his ass. At first he had been confused, thinking that Jared was actually reprimanding him. He stopped and waited to see what Jared would do next as the mewl escaped his lips. He bit down on his bottom lip trying to stop any other sounds from coming forth. He had angered Jared in some way and now Jared was going to beat him, like some of the alphas from his pride had done to their omegas. He braced himself for the next blow to come. He felt his body begin to shake and he tried not to let Jared see his fear, he was sure it would only make it worse.

 

Jared saw the look of confusion on Jensen’s face and then realized why Jensen had stopped. He looked at Jensen, saw that he was trembling and could feel the fear radiating off of him. He felt his heart sink into his stomach and he had to force his throat to work. “Oh, no,” he said shaking his head. “It’s just a tap on your ass, it’s meant to be playful. Nothing more.” He reached out, giving Jensen’s arm a squeeze, hoping that was enough to convince Jensen that everything between them was alright, that he wasn’t mad at Jensen, that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. 

 

Jensen’s green eyes went wide and his lips formed an ‘O’ as he began to comprehend what Jared was telling him. Jared wasn’t reprimanding him, Jared was being playful with him. He shook his head in understanding and then disappeared down the hall to their bedroom to get dressed.

 

“Shit!” Jared said out loud as soon as Jensen was gone. “I’m such a fucking idiot,” he said to the empty kitchen. There were times, like this, that he needed to remember that Jensen still didn’t understand everything that happened between humans. He had to remind himself that Jensen didn’t know what every human custom was or what playful banter and actions between humans consisted of. Jensen had grown up in a were-cat pride, not with a human family. He ran his hands through his hair as he paced the kitchen floor as he silently chastised himself. He needed to be more careful with Jensen. He needed to make sure Jensen actually understood what had just taken place between them, that he wasn’t trying to hurt him, that he wasn’t mad at him. 

 

Jensen crossed the threshold into their bedroom to get dressed. He rubbed at his backside, still feeling the phantom effects of Jared’s hand on his ass. He was still a little mystified by Jared’s actions toward him. He knew what it meant to kiss, to hold hands and what Jared called love making - breeding to him - between himself and Jared. He had also observed the first two with people he passed on the street or even in his book store. He had seen it in his pride as well, so it wasn’t as foreign to him as someone might think. He knew what facial expressions meant as well, although at times they were a little hard for him to read. He had to stop and think about what a frown meant as opposed to a smile or a smirk. It was so much easier when he had been part of the pride and they were in their cat forms. There were only so many facial expressions one had in their cat form and they tended to communicate with mewls, yowls, growls, purrs and chirps. But, while that was easier for him, he knew Jared had a hard time understanding him when he was stretched out as a cat on their bed or couch. Being in his cat form was just so much easier at times. Plus, Jared’s grooming of him was awesome in his opinion. Jared’s fingers scratched his belly and behind his ears just right. He smiled at that thought as he finished dressing and made his way back to find Jared leaning against the kitchen counter, waiting for him. “Ready,” he said as he stood in the doorway. He was still a little weary of the pat to his ass and wasn’t ready to get closer to Jared. He was pretty sure that the kitchen table and the distance between them would give him time to run if Jared was going to try to strike him. 

 

Jared looked up at Jensen and gave him a tight smile. He watched as Jensen tilted his head, looking at him with green eyes that spoke of weariness. He didn’t move toward Jensen. He could see the way Jensen had made sure to keep some distance and the kitchen table between their bodies. It hurt to see that, but he understood why. “I’m sorry . . . about earlier. I sometimes forget that you didn’t grow up in a human household, that you don’t always understand everything that goes on around you. When I tapped your ass, for me, it’s me being playful with you, not . . . um . . . trying to reprimand you. If that’s what you were thinking.” He watched as Jensen shifted on his feet, beginning to look like he was relaxing, trusting him again. “I didn’t mean for you to think that I was going to hit you, hurt you.” That hurt to say to Jensen, that Jensen thought he would ever harm him. He gave Jensen a sheepish look. “Not everyone does that to each other just so you know. I don’t want you to go around doing that to Matt or Felicia . . . It’s just between you and me.” God, he hoped his explanation made some type of sense to Jensen.  

 

“Okay, I understand,” Jensen said quietly. “So, if I do that to you, you would be okay with it?” He asked, just to be sure he was processing Jared’s words correctly. He certainly didn’t want to be playful with Jared, trying to hit at Jared’s ass, if Jared was the only one allowed to play that way. 

 

“Right,” Jared said with a smile. He held out a hand to Jensen, “Ready to go? I know this little place not too far from my firm. I do their taxes,” he said as he took Jensen’s hand in his and led them out of the house and to his SUV. They made the short drive to the area they both worked in, and found a parking spot within walking distance of the jewelry shop,  _ Per-Bast _ . Jared pointed to the store as he took Jensen’s hand in his to lead him to it. “It’s a strange name, I know. But the owner is a very nice older lady. She’s really very sweet,” he said as Jensen stopped in front of the store to read the name.

 

Jensen looked at Jared, a curious look on his face as he read the name. Jared most likely had no idea what the name meant, but he did. “ _ Per-Bast _ . It means the domain of Bast. The Egyptian Goddess of protection and cats. It’s thought that were-cats are descendants of Bast and that’s where we got the ability to shift from cat to human,” Jensen said as he stepped closer to Jared. He had no idea what they were walking in to. Maybe it was just a name of a store. Many stores had names without meaning behind them.

 

Jared looked at Jensen in awe. Of course Jensen, with his books and knowledge from them would know all of this. And, being a were-cat most likely didn’t hurt. “We can go somewhere else if you’d like. I’ve never been inside, so . . .” He gave Jensen a shrug and started to turn away from the store front only to be stopped by a female voice calling out to him.

 

“Mr. Padalecki! I thought that was you.”  

 

Jared turned back to address the woman who had called to him. “Ms. Tamar, how are you?” He asked as he flashed her a smile.

 

“I’m wonderful on this fine Sunday. What are you doing here? You’re not working are you?” 

 

“No, I was taking my husband to your store. We’re having a ceremony to celebrate our union and I wanted to purchase rings,” he said as he looked at the woman standing in the doorway to the little jewelry store. He waited to see her reaction and was relieved to see the smile on her face.

 

“Please come in,” she said with a smile and a sweeping motion of her hands before opening the door for them. Once inside, she closed the door and turned to them. “Welcome and please call me Shani.” 

 

“This is Jensen,” Jared said with pride as he beamed at them, his eyes resting on Jensen as he spoke. “And please call me Jared.”

 

“Jensen, it’s nice to meet you. Jared, congratulations. I have several rings I can show you. If you don’t find what you like, I can always go online and order something to your liking.” She led them over to a long glass counter and walked behind it to open one of the areas containing wedding rings.  

 

Jared glanced over his shoulder at Jensen as he joined Shani. He knew from working for her that the older woman was open-minded and non-judgemental, those were the reasons he had chosen to bring Jensen here to buy their rings. He just hadn’t known what the stores’ name meant. He had never thought to ask the owner. Seeing Jensen looking around the store, he turned his attention back to Shani. 

 

“Well, this is what I have in stock,” she said with a bright smile as she unlocked the partition, sliding it to the side and withdrew a tray containing matching male wedding bands. “I try to accommodate  everyone’s needs, even if we are in Texas. Love is love, after all.”

 

Jared looked them over before picking up one set to look at it more closely. He frowned at the rings and replaced them in the tray. “No, those aren’t right,” he murmured.

 

“Take your time, this is an extremely important decision for you and Jensen to make.” She gave him another bright smile as she cocked her head to the side. “How long have you two been together, if you don’t mind me asking? In my line of business, I love a good love story.” She swiped a hand over the wedding rings and gave a little laugh.

 

Jared gave her a dimpled smiled and then looked lovingly over at Jensen. “Nine months in total. We met at  _ Coffee Roma _ . I bumped into Jensen, nearly knocked him down. Officially we’ve been together three months since we made the decision to marry each other. This just makes it official for us and our families,” he said as he pointed at the rings. “I can’t imagine my life without Jensen.”

 

“You’re a very lucky man,” Shani said as she reached out and placed a hand on Jared’s arm. “Not many know how lucky they are and take a chance on the person that’s right for them. And for you to know so soon, it’s amazing.” She looked up at Jared before turning her eyes on Jensen, watching him as he moved quietly around the store, stopping in front of one statue in particular. She smiled as she watched his interest in it grow as he held out a hand to touch it. Jared’s voice pulled her attention back to her task at hand, helping the couple find the right wedding rings.

 

“I am a very lucky man,” Jared said as he gave Jensen another look. He noticed Jensen examining one of the several statues that decorated the store. “Jensen is the amazing one,” he said as he turned back to look at the rings, settling on pair that caught his eye. They were perfect and hoped that Jensen would agree with his choice. “Jensen,” Jared called softly, trying to get his mate’s attention without startling him, that was the last thing he wanted. 

 

Jensen looked around the jewelry store and noticed several statues of Bast. They were hidden in plain sight, but he knew what that meant. The owner of the store was a worshiper of Bast. He smiled at the hidden meaning. He turned to Shani and looked at her as she spoke with Jared. She noticed him watching her and she smiled at him. He cocked his head to the side and returned the smile. “You’re Egyptian,” he said. It was a statement, not a question to the woman.

 

“Yes, I am. But I wasn’t born there.” She looked to Jared and then Jensen. “You noticed the statues. Not many do or know the meaning behind the name of my store, but you do,” Shani said as her eyes never wavered from Jensen. 

 

“Yes,” Jensen said without hesitation. “You named your store after the Goddess Bast, you worship Bast. Everything you do is to honor her.” 

 

Jared gave the two a questioning look, but remained silent. He waited for either of them to break the silence. He felt compelled to break the silence when it seemed to stretch on past the point of being comfortable. “I like these,” he said and pointed at the rings he had been looking at. “What do you think?” He asked looking at Jensen. 

 

Jensen turned his attention back to Jared and stepped closer to look at the rings. He picked one of them up and ran his finger over it. The ring was made of white gold with a brushed inlay finish, milgrain borders and brightly polished edges. He liked the feel of the ring against his skin and the different aspects of it. He turned and looked at Jared. He gave Jared a smile before answering him. “Yes, I love them,” he said as he handed the ring to Jared. 

 

Jared took the rings and handed it to Shani. “We’ll take these,” he said.

 

“I’m happy you both found what called to you. Let me polish them and then I’ll box them up for you. Just give me a few minutes.” She returned the tray of rings to the display case, closed and locked it and disappeared into the back of the store. She returned several minutes later to find Jared watching Jensen as he looked at a Bast figurine that adorned another of the cases. She came out from behind the counter with the boxed rings in a small bag and offered it to Jared. 

 

“Thanks.” Jared said as he took the bag. “So, what’s the damage?” He asked with a chuckle. 

 

“No charge. This is my gift to you,” she said, not taking her eyes off of Jensen. She smiled at him and then turned to Jared. “Your omega is exquisite. You’re a very lucky man. Blessed really,” she said as she leveled a pointed look at Jared. “Not only were you befriended by a creature so beloved by Bast that she gifted him the ability to shift to his true form, but you are loved by him. He chose you as his mate.”

 

Jared felt his heart slam against his chest. Instinctually, he stepped between Shani and Jensen, putting himself in possible harm’s way in order to protect Jensen. 

 

Shani watched Jared’s movements, saw how he had stepped between herself and Jensen. “I see his trust in you is well placed. Your first instinct is to protect him. It’s rare for a were-cat to leave their pride. It’s even rarer when that were-cat is an omega. I have only heard of one, maybe two stories from many years ago of an omega taking a human as a mate, to accept that human as their alpha. You must truly love him and he you.”          

 

“How did you know?” Jared asked, feeling fear spike through his body. Had he unintentionally brought Jensen to meet someone who would hurt him? Was she from Jensen’s pride or a rival pride? Was she another type of were-creature? Jensen hadn’t said anything about her being a were when he had first met her, not that he would know every were-species. God, he hoped she wasn’t an alpha. But, surely Jensen would have reacted differently.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you,” Shani said with a sad smile. “I mean your omega-mate no harm, nor you alpha. I just never thought I would ever be privileged enough to meet a were-cat, let alone meet a life giver. My family has worshipped Bast and her beloved shifters since their creation. As far as knowing, you have to know what to look for, it’s extremely subtle, the differences between a were-creature and a human. Jensen’s movements are very fluid, cat-like. And, then there’s the very faint scent. Jensen has a sweet scent to him, surely, as his alpha, you’ve noticed it.” She stopped speaking for a moment to watch Jared’s reaction; his jaw tensed and his hands clenched into fists. “You have noticed his scent, but for you it speaks to your inner alpha, that he his your mate. To me, it just speaks of Bast and her beloved creatures, to protect Jensen. You have nothing to fear from me. I’m just honored to meet you, Jensen,” she said, looking past Jared’s tense body to Jensen. 

 

Jared felt Jensen press closer to his body, Jensen’s hand on his back. He moved to place a protective arm around Jensen, pulling him in close to his body. He felt Jensen turn to look at him.

 

“Jared?” Jensen said questioningly as he turned in Jared’s arm. He wasn’t sure if he should remain silent and let his alpha deal with this potential threat to him, to them or if he should speak up. He saw the stoney look on Jared’s face and felt the anger flowing off of Jared’s body, mixed with fear - fear for him, that someone would hurt him. “I don’t think she intends to harm me or us,” he said quietly, trying to diffuse the situation. “I think Shani is telling us the truth.” He worried his bottom lip, hoping he hadn’t overstepped by speaking up. 

 

“So, how do we know you won’t try to hurt Jensen? Or bother him once we leave here today?” He asked as dread coursed through his body. Jensen worked not that far from here. It wouldn’t take much for the woman to figure things out, to bother Jensen or to hurt Jensen in some way. 

 

Shani put her hands up in a sign of surrender. “No, never. Hurting Jensen, bothering him should you tell me to never approach him after today, would be going against everything my family and I have ever believed in. I would be bringing down the wrath of Bast on myself, on my family. I won’t say anything to anyone, you have my word on that. I won’t risk my afterlife or that of my family’s afterlife. That is extremely important to me. Bast is powerful, she could take her anger out on my ancestors, erase them from existence.”

 

What little Jared knew of the Egyptian culture, he knew that the afterlife was extremely important to them. At least that’s what he thought he remembered of the ancient Egyptians. He eyed her suspiciously before finally nodding his head. “I believe you, that you mean no harm to us. It’s just that I love Jensen and will protect him to the best of my ability. If he doesn’t feel that you’re a threat to him, to us, then I’ll defer to his opinion. I may be Jensen’s husband, his alpha-mate, but he makes his own decisions. If he wants you to stay away from him, then that’s what he wants and I hope you will respect his decision as I do.” 

 

Jensen moved forward toward Shani and hugged her. He heard both Jared and Shani’s surprised gasps. “Thank you for your generosity and your kindness,” he said and then stepped back into Jared’s arms. He raised his face to Jared and felt Jared’s lips on his cheek. “I think if we pass on the street it will be fine to say hello to each other,” he said as he looked at Jared, hoping Jared would understand and approved of his decision.

 

Jared nodded at Jensen and pulled Jensen closer to his body. “Are you ready to leave?” Jared asked in a tight voice. He was fighting with himself to not just drag Jensen away and to the safety of his SUV. He had just told the woman standing before them that he respected Jensen’s decision. He had to be true to his word. 

 

“Yes, let’s go home,” Jensen said and felt Jared leading him to the door. Without a word, they exited the jewelry store and walked the short distance back to Jared’s SUV. Jared made sure Jensen was safely inside the vehicle before Jared got in behind the wheel of the SUV and drove them home in silence. As they parked in their driveway, Jared let out the breath he had been holding, forcing Jensen to turn to him.

 

“Of all the jewelry stores I could ever pick, I pick the one where the owner knows about were-creatures and was able to figure out that you’re a were-cat.” He gave a harsh laugh as he turned to look at Jensen. “I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe.”

 

Jensen shook his head in understanding and then clutched the bag containing their rings to his chest. “It wasn’t a total waste,” he said with a smile, hoping his little joke would lighten the mood.

 

Jared gave Jensen a dimpled smile and then pulled him in for a kiss. “No, my perfect mate, it wasn’t.” He looked at Jensen as he pulled away from him. What would he do if the jewelry store owner hurt Jensen? The world knew of were-creatures, that they existed. But, he didn’t care about the world. He cared about Jensen, he cared about Jensen’s happiness and his safety. He would need to pay another visit to  _ Per-Bast _ . He needed to be sure that Shani Tamar wasn’t a threat to his mate. “Come on, let’s go inside,” Jared said as he opened his door. He was followed closely by Jensen as he opened their front door. Once inside, he took the bag from Jensen. “I’m just gonna put these away.” He disappeared into their bedroom, tucked the rings into the top drawer of his dresser and stepped away. He could hear Jensen moving around the kitchen. He knew Jensen was making himself a cup of tea and he gave a small laugh at how in tune he was to Jensen’s movements.  _ His movements are very fluid, cat-like _ , Shani’s words rang in his ears. But, she was right, now that he thought about it. Even Matt, Felicia and a couple of his friends had remarked about how quiet Jensen was. How he would just appear as if he sensed his presence was required when needing help with a customer or how Jensen just knew that Jared wanted him by his side. He had thought it was just Jensen being a great business owner or the fact that Jensen was mated to him. Maybe it was more of Jensen being a were-cat than Jared had ever given thought to. He looked up to find Jensen standing in the doorway, holding his mug of steaming tea, head cocked to one side regarding him. He hadn’t even heard Jensen approaching him. He was like that in his cat form as well. Jared never heard him unless Jensen wanted him to. He reached out and caressed Jensen’s cheek. “You do like the rings? Are you happy with what we picked out?” He questioned. 

 

“Yes, very much,” Jensen replied quietly. “So, what now?” 

 

“What do you mean?” Jared asked, not understanding Jensen’s question.

 

“You put the rings away. Do I need to do something?”

 

“Do something?” Jared shook his head and looked at Jensen, his brows furrowed. “I don’t understand,” he said in response to Jensen’s questions.

 

“Prove myself,” Jensen said in a near whisper. “Is that why you put the rings away, why you didn’t give me the ring?” That was the only thing he had come up with as to why Jared had taken the rings from him. Why Jared had decided not to give him the ring Jared had gotten for him. He had spoken out of turn in the jewelry store. He needed to prove to Jared that he was worthy of Jared giving him the ring. He knew that in a pride, when there weren’t enough alphas, the omegas had to prove they were worthy of being mated and bred. 

 

“No,” Jared said. He wanted to facepalm himself. Twice in one day he had forgotten to explain something to Jensen, leaving Jensen to question what was happening around himself. “I’m an idiot,” he said more to himself than Jensen. “I’m sorry. I didn’t explain things to you.” He placed his hands on Jensen’s shoulders. “I’ll give you your ring when you give me mine. When we have our families together. That’s when we’ll exchange rings. I’ll place your ring on your finger and then you’ll place mine on my finger. You don’t have to prove yourself to me, ever.”

 

Jensen sipped his tea as he listened to Jared’s explanation. He was relieved to hear Jared’s words. He didn’t have to prove himself. He could feel Jared’s tension, but it didn’t feel like it was directed at him. “So, you’re not mad at me? I know I should have waited for you to deal with the jewelry store owner, Shani. I just didn’t . . .” Jensen shrugged his shoulders. He was at a loss for words as to how to explain why he had spoken up instead of waiting for Jared’s approval. Was he ever going to get things right where Jared was concerned? 

 

“No, you have a right to say what’s on your mind. You have a right to your opinions and feelings and can voice them. I might not always agree with them. We might even have words over our different opinions, but you don’t ever have to worry coming to me, telling me how you feel. People argue all the time. I might just need to blow off some steam. But, it doesn’t mean that I don’t love you or want you. Do you understand that? I’ll always love you.”

 

“Yes and I love you. But, you’re upset,” Jensen said matter-of-factly. 

 

“I am, but not at you. You’re not the cause. I just need a little time alone. Okay?”

 

Jensen nodded. That he understood. There were times when he need time to himself. Usually, he shifted into his cat form and napped on the couch or bed. Sometimes, when he was extremely agitated, he would crawl under the bed or curl up in the closet where no one would bother him until he had been able to calm himself down. “Okay, I’m going to read for awhile.” He reached up, cupped Jared’s cheek and then leaned in for a kiss. He was met halfway by Jared who leaned down and kissed him. He gave a soft purr to Jared before leaving the bedroom to grab the book he had left in the living room on the coffee table. He would leave Jared alone to deal with what was bothering him while he settled himself on the couch to read.

 

Jared paced the bedroom floor. His mind was a swirl of thoughts over Jensen. Twice in one day he had screwed up where Jensen was concerned. He had left Jensen in fear of being hit. His heart was heavy with that. That Jensen could even think that was a possibility, that he would hit Jensen. Yes, he had smacked Jensen’s ass, but that had been in play. Something Jensen clearly had no idea about. And, just now, he had made Jensen think he had to prove himself in order to get his ring. He was doing a shitty job of being Jensen’s mate and alpha. And, to top everything off, he had brought Jensen to a store where the owner had figured out what Jensen was. That didn’t sit well with him. He needed to protect Jensen. He needed to have that talk with Shani, now.

 

Jared walked in to the living room to find Jensen curled up on the couch reading his book. Jensen looked content. He took a deep breath and hoped Jensen didn’t question him. “Jensen, I have to run out for a little while. I have something I need to take care of.” He walked over to Jensen and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. 

 

Jensen looked up from his book as Jared spoke to him. “Do you want me to go with you?” 

 

“No, I shouldn’t be too long,” he said over his shoulder as he grabbed his keys and jacket. He was out of the house before Jensen could say anything else. He drove back to the jewelry store. There were only a few minutes to spare before the store closed. He parked and jogged to the front door, praying that Ms. Tamar hadn’t closed early. He grabbed the handle and yanked at it to pull the door open. He stepped inside, letting the door close on its own after him. He was greeted by a stunned store owner.

 

“Jared!” Shani said in surprise. “Is there a problem with the rings?” She asked as she came out from behind the counter. 

 

“No, but we need to talk. I need to know that Jensen is safe. I love him. He’s my mate. He’s my omega and I will do anything it takes to protect him. He’s been hurt enough. What do you want from him?” He demanded of the woman standing in front of him. He could feel his jaw tense as anger flowed through his body. He knew he had to stay calm, the last thing he wanted was to come off as threatening to this woman. That would only inflame the situation if she really was a threat to Jensen. “Jensen is the most important aspect of my life. He doesn’t think you’ll hurt him. But, I know what the world is like. He hasn’t lived in the human world all that long. Up until meeting me, he went to work and then home. He’s still learning what humans are like.”

 

“Jared, I truly mean no harm to Jensen. I’m sorry if I gave you any other indication than the fact that I was honored to meet him. I was shocked at first. Like I said, it’s extremely rare for a were-cat, especially an omega to leave a pride. Jensen had to be incredibly brave to leave.” Shani went quiet for a moment as she thought over what Jared had just said to her. “You said he’s been hurt enough. That means his pride didn’t protect him. That’s . . . that’s blasphemy,” she said, her voice taking on an edge of anger.

 

Jared stood still, trying to make sense of everything. Shani seemed like a nice person. Jensen believed her when she had said she wasn’t a threat to him, to them. He wanted to believe that himself. But, he had seen enough of the world to know what it really was like. It was cruel, hurtful and hateful at times. He didn’t want that aspect of the world touching Jensen, not if he could prevent it. When the world had first found out about the existence of were-creatures, they had been killed because of their differences, their ability to shift from human to their animal form. Yes, now weres were more accepted, laws were now in place to protect them, but that still wouldn’t stop some lunatic from harming or killing a were. 

 

“How could the pride not care for Jensen? He’s an omega. He’s a life giver. Without him the pride would die out. He should be worshipped!” Shani said, pulling Jared from his thoughts. “That’s what the pride is all about, or should be.” She stood looking at Jared, waiting for his response.

 

“I’m not going to discuss Jensen’s pride. Not with a stranger. I just came here to make sure you’re not a threat to Jensen.” He curled his hand into fists and then willed himself to try to relax. “I’ll ask you again, what do you want from him?” His voice was low and full of fury, but he kept himself rooted to the floor, when all he wanted was to shake the woman before him until she told him what her intent was toward Jensen. 

 

“You may not be a were-creature, but you are a true alpha,” Shani said as she looked at the tall, muscular man standing in front of her. She could see how his body tensed in anger, fists curled, ready to strike at the possible threat to his omega-mate. He made an imposing figure. She could see why Jensen had mated with him. “Please Jared, you and Jensen have nothing to fear from me. I’m human, like you. I don’t want to hurt either of you. I’m curious about Jensen. I might be able to help you, if you ever have questions regarding were-cats. My family has recorded their accounts from their dealings with Bast’s beloved creatures since they were discovered in ancient Egypt. They were guardians, caretakers for the shifters. That’s how I knew what to look for. There are shifters who have been cast out from a pride, or, like Jensen have left for whatever reason. They need to be cared for. You understand that. Jensen has found that with you. He has his mate, his alpha. I would never try to interfere with that.” She waited to see what Jared would do with that knowledge. She had hoped when he had left earlier, he had understood she wasn’t a threat. Clearly, the alpha in him wasn’t willing to take that chance to his mate.

 

Jared took a step back from the woman in front of him. “I don’t want you bothering Jensen. I don’t want him to live in fear that someone will harm him, or tell others that he’s a were. If he comes to you, that’s one thing. But, I don’t want you to actively seek him out. He deserves to be happy.”

 

“I understand. Please believe me. I won’t bother Jensen, or you.” Shani regarded Jared as he stood in front of her. She could see him begin to relax ever so slightly, but he still hadn’t let his guard totally down. “Jensen has his alpha, clearly he is loved and protected. But, should you ever need a friendly shoulder, I’m just around the corner from you.”

 

Jared nodded at the woman, turned and left without saying another word to her. He didn’t know if he had lost a customer or not and he didn’t care about that. He had made his feelings know to the woman. He had done his best to protect Jensen. He could live with that knowledge. He made the drive back to Jensen in silence, not bothering to turn the radio on in hopes that it would calm his nerves. What he needed was Jensen. He needed to know Jensen was safe. He need to touch Jensen, to claim him, breed him. He parked the SUV and strode into their home. He found Jensen where he had left him over an hour ago, still on the couch, reading. As he walked into the living room, he noticed that Jensen had looked up from his book and was tracking his movements. He walked over, grabbed Jensen’s book and Jensen, pulling Jensen to his feet.

 

“Jared . . .” Jensen said as Jared walked into the room. He could feel Jared’s tangled emotions. Fear, anger, love and desire radiating off of him. Before he could say anything else, Jared had grabbed the book from him with one hand and had tossed it aside, pulling him up from the couch with his other free hand. His breath hitched in his throat as Jared crashed his lips against his. He mewled softly, letting Jared know that he was receptive to what was happening. 

 

Jared heard the soft mewl coming from Jensen as he pulled away from his mouth. “Mine,” he said in a ragged voice. “My omega, I’ll always protect you. I’ll always want you.” His voice was low but heated, as he spoke.

 

Jensen looked up at Jared. He saw that Jared’s hazel eyes were dark with desire. “Alpha, I’m yours,” he responded. He felt himself being spun around as Jared maneuvered him against the arm of the couch. He felt Jared’s lips brush against his neck as Jared kissed and nipped at his skin. He gave a soft trill when Jared’s lips brush over his ear. 

 

“Gonna breed you,” Jared husked out against the shell of Jensen’s ear as his hands went to Jensen’s pants. He popped the button, dragged the zipper down and then pulled Jensen’s pants and underwear down past his thighs. He pulled Jensen’s shirt off of him, dropping it to the floor. He repeated the actions with his own shirt and pants, freeing his throbbing erection. He could tell Jensen was on board, he could smell Jensen’s arousal, but he had to be sure. Even through the haze of lust for Jensen clouding his mind, he forced his brain to work, to make sure Jensen wanted this as well, that Jensen’s body wasn’t just reacting to his touches. “Tell me, do you want this? Do you want me to breed you?”  

 

Jensen didn’t bother calling Jared alpha or mate as he normally would have. He could tell that this wasn’t about Jared actually breeding him, it was about Jared laying claim to him. “Yes, Jared,” Jensen managed to say before a needy mewl escaped his lips. He pushed his ass back at Jared, further showing Jared his desire to be claimed by him.

 

That was all Jared needed. He brought one hand up to Jensen’s neck and held him in place as his other hand worked its way down Jensen’s spine to his ass. He slicked one of his fingers and pushed it inside of Jensen. He listened to Jensen’s gasp as he began to work him open, adding another finger and then a third. When he felt Jensen was ready, he withdrew his fingers, he heard the soft growl of protest from Jensen before he lined his cock up and pushed into Jensen’s body. He heard Jensen’s hiss at being breached and he moaned in response. Once he was fully sheathed in Jensen’s tight heat, he stopped, feeling Jensen’s muscle fluttering around him as Jensen’s body adjusted to taking his cock. When he heard Jensen give another soft growl, he began to move, pulling out, only to thrust back in, practically lifting Jensen off his feet.

 

Jensen fisted his hands into the couch cushions as Jared slammed into him. He caterwauled at the force of Jared’s thrusts. He felt the pressure of Jared’s fingers on the back of his neck and let his body relax into Jared’s touch. He felt Jared’s hand on his hip, his fingers digging into him and he closed his eyes as he felt Jared’s thrust intensify. He let his body be rocked against the couch as Jared moved in and out of him. He heard Jared’s voice and his eyes snapped open. He tilted his head to the side, listening to Jared’s words.

 

The words, “mine, my omega, my mate,” punctuated Jared’s thrust into Jensen. He let go of his hold on Jensen’s neck and brought his other hand to Jensen’s hip. With both hands, he dragged Jensen’s body up toward him, pushing himself further into Jensen’s pliant body. He groaned in pleasure as he fucked into Jensen. He loved the way Jensen’s body felt around his cock and the way Jensen responded to him. He forced himself to breathe as he slammed into Jensen. This wasn’t just about him, his need. He had to make sure this was enjoyable for Jensen. He slowed his thrusts, giving Jensen time to relax from the forceful way he had just been pounding into him. He leaned over Jensen, blanketing Jensen’s body with his own. He chased after Jensen’s lips, needing to kiss him. 

 

Jensen returned Jared’s needy kiss, opening his mouth to tangle his tongue with Jared’s. He moaned around Jared’s tongue, enjoying the taste of him. He broke the kiss as his lungs began to scream for oxygen. He bared his neck to Jared, showing his submission and purred when Jared licked a strip along his neck. He gave another mewl when one of Jared’s hands trailed along his hip and then forced its way between him and the couch. He felt Jared’s fingers wrap around his throbbing cock and hissed at the sensation as Jared’s fist began to work him into a frenzy. He didn’t know what to do with his body, push back onto Jared’s cock or thrust into Jared’s fist. “Jared,” he called out as his body began to tense up, the intensity of the need to come washing over him, short-circuiting his brain. He felt Jared’s teeth on his neck, placing soft bites against his skin. Then, Jared kissed behind his earlobe before whispering into his ear. “Come for me”. Jared’s voice was soft, but commanding. He didn’t fight against Jared’s words, not that he wanted to. He could only obey his alpha. He felt his orgasm rip through his body and he came screaming Jared’s name. 

 

Hearing Jensen scream his name as he came was what Jared had been waiting for. He worked Jensen through his orgasm before giving in and chasing after his own release. He grabbed Jensen by the hips and pulled him back onto his cock before he began to thrust in and out of Jensen’s ass. He felt his release building and his eyes rolled back in his head as he came, emptying himself into Jensen’s laxed body. He pitched forward, but caught himself before he fell on top of Jensen’s body. He nosed along Jensen’s neck, smelling Jensen’s sweet scent and hummed to himself in appreciation. He kissed along Jensen’s spine and heard the breathy moan his lips had drawn from Jensen. He smiled against Jensen’s skin before gently pulling himself out of Jensen’s body. He looked down at Jensen, saw how heavy his breathing was as Jensen tried to catch his breath. Shame washed over him. Had he been to rough with Jensen? Had he hurt Jensen? He had never been so carnal with him previously. Before, even when their breeding had been needy, he had been tender with Jensen. “Jensen?” Jared said in a soft voice. Then he remembered what he had really done. How he had commanded Jensen to come for him. He closed his eyes and shook his head at himself. “I’m so sorry,” he said as he raised a hand to touch Jensen, only to let it fall to his side.     

 

Jensen sagged against the arm of the couch, his body to wiped out to even move. He couldn’t control his limbs. His legs felt like Jello and his arms couldn’t hold his weight as he tried to right himself. He gulped in air, trying to get his lungs to work. He heard Jared call his name. He smiled only to have the smile fall from his lips when he heard Jared tell him he was sorry. Sorry? Why was Jared sorry? Had Jared not really wanted to claim him, breed him? He swallowed several times before he finally got his speech back. “Sorry?” He asked as he tried to turn to look at Jared. “Did you . . . did you not really want me?” He whispered as he pulled his pants up, feeling the need to cover himself, even if his pants were covered in his own come. He searched for his shirt, saw it on the ground and moved to retrieve it, not daring to look at Jared. 

 

“What? No!” Jared said and then saw the color drain from Jensen’s face as he stopped moving. “I mean, no I really wanted you.” He quickly pulled his own pants back up, not bothering to button them as he reached out for Jensen. “I’m sorry for being so rough. I’ve never done that to you. And then . . .” He placed his hands on Jensen’s shoulders, pulling Jensen to his still naked chest so they had skin to skin contact. 

 

“And then?” Jensen asked softly, trying to coax out whatever Jared was trying to tell him. He needed to hear whatever Jared was going to tell him, even if it hurt to hear the words.

 

“And then I commanded you to come. I gave you an order. I said I would never do that to you.” He hung his head in shame, letting his bangs fall into his face as he felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. He stepped back from Jensen. “I’m just so sorry I did that to you.” 

 

“Oh,” Jensen responded. He brought his hands up to Jared’s face and smoothed back Jared’s hair and wiped away the tears that had started to fall from Jared’s closed eyes. “That’s what you’re sorry for?” Jensen said softly, catching Jared’s attention enough to make him open his eyes. 

 

“Yes,” Jared said, finally looking into Jensen’s eyes. He saw softness and love reflecting back at him, not anger or hurt as he had expected. “Please forgive me.” He felt his heart clench in his chest. What if Jensen couldn’t or wouldn’t be able to look past what he had just done? What if Jensen didn’t forgive him? How would they ever deal with that?

 

“There’s nothing to forgive.” Jensen said and then bit his bottom lip. 

 

“You’re not angry with me?”

 

“No,” Jensen said, shaking his head. “I liked it. I liked you giving me that command. Remember, I told you that giving me an order as my alpha during a breeding isn’t a bad thing. And I’m not gonna break if you’re rough with me. Breedings don’t always have to be tender.” He bit his bottom lip again before saying what he was about to say, hoping Jared wouldn’t be angry with him. “A breeding can be what we want it to be between us.”

 

Jared breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Jensen back into his arms. “I love you,” was all he could say as he helped Jensen down the hall to their bedroom and deposited him onto their bed. He disappeared into the bathroom and reappeared, naked and holding a wet washcloth. He helped Jensen out of his clothing and wiped him down, cleaning away any traces of their breeding. He tossed aside the cloth, he’d deal with it later and then covered them both with their blanket. He felt Jensen’s naked skin against his own. They had never slept like this before and he wanted to feel Jensen’s warm skin against his own. He rolled onto his side and looked at Jensen, taking in the sight of Jensen’s naked body next to him. 

 

Jensen felt the bed move and turned his head to look at Jared, unsure of what Jared was doing. He found Jared looking at him and he smiled. “Did you take care of what you had to?” He asked as he rolled over to face Jared. 

 

“Yes,” Jared said, not taking his eyes off of Jensen. “I went back to speak with Shani. I needed to make sure you were safe.”

 

“Am I?” Jensen asked quietly.

 

“Yes,” was all Jared said. He brought his hand up to touch Jensen’s face. He ran a hand over his cheek and then trailed his thumb over Jensen’s plump bottom lip. 

 

“Good,” Jensen said with a shake of his head. He didn’t need to know anything else. Jared would tell him if he truly needed to know. The only thing he cared about was that Jared was here with him. Jared had felt that there was a need to protect him, and as his alpha, Jared had done just that. “Hold me?”

 

“Anything you want,” Jared said as he rolled onto his back. He lifted his arm so Jensen could snuggle close to him. 

 

Jensen moved closer to Jared and rested his head on Jared’s chest. He snaked an arm around Jared’s waist and settled against Jared’s inviting warm body. “My alpha,” Jensen said in a drowsy voice and began to purr as he drifted off to sleep.

 

Jared smiled as he ran a hand up and down Jensen’s back, feeling the vibration of Jensen’s purring against his fingers and chest. He craned his neck so he could kiss the top of Jensen’s head. “My omega, I will always keep you safe.” He closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of Jensen’s naked body against his as Jensen’s purring lulled him to sleep.  


End file.
